At its September 15, 2018, meeting, the Ohio Education Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse Issue 1 on the 2018 November ballot.
The Neighborhood Safety and Drug Treatment Amendment reduces the number of people in state prison for low-level, nonviolent crimes and puts the money to better use by directing future savings to drug treatment and victim services.
“As educators, we see the terrible impact of the opioid epidemic on our communities and the families of our students…too often, the resources for treatment are not there.”
— Pres. Becky Higgins
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“We believe that Issue 1 helps to address the urgent need to fix Ohio’s broken and overcrowded prison system that puts in jail non-violent offenders at the expense of adequately funding prevention and treatment programs,” said OEA President Becky Higgins.
Issue 1 would not change laws or funding for incarcerating people convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation. A broad, bipartisan coalition of community, faith, law enforcement, and business groups has formed to support this measure and help Ohio improve safety and reduce prison costs.