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by ERIN PARROTT
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As part of a monthly FITSNews series tracking educator misconduct in South Carolina, we are reviewing the latest disciplinary actions taken by the S.C. State Board of Education (SCSBE) against teachers and other school officials in the Palmetto State.
In October of 2025, the board considered formal disciplinary action against fifteen certified educators statewide. Of those cases, three orders of suspension were issued related to three educator arrests and one allegation of misconduct involving marijuana.
According to the orders of suspension, the three educator arrests involved sexual battery of a student, breach of trust with fraudulent intent and unlawful conduct towards a child.
The cases that we’re focusing on this month involve educators from four different counties – Darlington, Hampton, Oconee and Spartanburg.
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JENNIFER DIXON HOOKS
- Type: Summary Suspension
- Date: October 15, 2025
- Certificate: 293152
- Allegation: Arrested on two counts of the felony charge of breach of trust with fraudulent intent value $10,000 or more.
- School: Darlington High School
- District: Darlington County School District
- Status: Certificate summarily suspended pending due process.
On September 23, 2025, 50-year-old Jennifer Dixon Hooks was arrested in Darlington County and charged with two counts of the felony charge of breach of trust with fraudulent intent value $10,000 or more after she allegedly misappropriated funds from a church in Darlington – while serving as the interim assistant principal at Darlington High School.
Hooks, an educator with more than seven years of experience, was released on a $25,000 bond and is currently awaiting trial. The Darlington County School District placed her on administrative leave following her arrest. On October 15, 2025, the South Carolina State Board of Education issued an order suspending her teaching license pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
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PRISCILLA MAY DENNIS
- Type: Summary Suspension
- Date: October 15, 2025
- Certificate: 282191
- Allegation: Arrested for unlawful conduct towards a child.
- School: Estill Middle School
- District: Hampton County School District
- Status: Certificate summarily suspended pending due process.
On or about September 24, 2025, 50-year-old Priscilla May Dennis was arrested in Hampton County following allegations of unlawful conduct towards a child. It is alleged that she struck her 13-year-old child in the head and face several times with her closed fist, and the injuries required treatment from EMS personnel.
Dennis, who has more than 15 years of educator experience, was released on $5,000 bond and is currently awaiting trial. Following her arrest, the Hampton County School District placed her on administrative leave. On October 15, 2025, the South Carolina State Board of Education suspended her educator’s license until the case is resolved.
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GREGORY RALPH BIBB
- Type: Order of Revocation
- Date: October 7, 2025
- Certificate: 135256
- Allegation: Misconduct after allegedly engaging in conversations with a female student about his use of marijuana.
- School: Seneca High School
- District: Oconee County School District
- Status: Certificate revoked.
On September 12, 2025, Gregory Ralph Bibb, a 64-year-old math teacher in Oconee County received a notice via regular and certified mail of his right to a hearing regarding the possible suspension or revocation of his South Carolina educator certificate, after he resigned his employment in the midst of an ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct in May of 2024.
It was alleged that Bibb engaged in conversations with a female student about his use of marijuana and asked the student to use marijuana with him. It is also alleged that he attempted to contact the student via email late at night inquiring whether they were still awake and if they were planning on coming to school the following day.
Bibb, who had over 40 years of teaching experience, was placed on administrative leave on May 2, 2024 and resigned his position officially on May 6, 2024 in the midst of the ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct. After considering the evidence presented, the State Board voted to revoke Mr. Bibb’s educator certificate, effective October 7, 2025.
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MICAH LANFORD
- Type: Summary Suspension
- Date: October 7, 2025
- Allegation: Arrested on eight counts of sexual battery with a student 16-17 years of age.
- School: Boiling Springs High School
- District: Spartanburg County School District Two
- Status: Certificate summarily suspended pending due process.
On September 14, 2025, 27-year-old Micah Lanford was arrested in Spartanburg County – following his resignation from Boiling Springs High School on September 11, 2025 – on eight counts of sexual battery with a student 16-17 years of age.
Lanford, an educator with over four years of experience, is currently being held at the Spartanburg County detention center where a judge set his bond at $45,000, but he has a tentatively scheduled court appearance on Oct. 31 to ask that it be modified or reduced. On October 7, 2025, issued an order suspending his teaching license pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
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FITSNews will continue to monitor disciplinary actions from the SCSBE and report on the individuals, institutions and accountability gaps that allow this misconduct to occur.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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4 comments
No report of this “Benoit, a former after-school director and a substitute teacher at Green Charter School of the Midlands in Irmo, was charged in February with eight counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. In those cases, Benoit is accused of inappropriately touching three students who range in age from 7-12 years old while on school grounds.”
Are charter schools not under SCSBA control? Or do they simply not fit the narrative of this story?
How about a story on the superintendent of education getting a fake degree from a more or less fake university so she could get elected? Maybe this is a trickle down effect?
I only wish we would expect as much from our elected officials. I am not excusing teachers for this behavior, but politicians get away with it daily, and it is treated as boys will be boys.
Exactly right, and if a SC educator used publicly or online some of the four-letter words or personal insults that Donald Trump feels the need to express, they would be severely disciplined or terminated. Apparently, too many South Carolinians value the conduct of their children’s educators much more than they do that of their elected President.