Former HCS teacher agrees to surrender educator certificate following child abuse case
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A former Horry County Schools educator will not be teaching in the Palmetto State anytime soon.
Documents from the South Carolina Department of Education show that former Ocean Bay Elementary School special education teacher, Grace McColgan, entered into a Consent Order of Permanent Voluntary Surrender of her educator certificate.
It comes after she pleaded guilty in July to six counts of unlawful conduct toward a child. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
RELATED COVERAGE:
- Horry County teacher pleads guilty in child abuse case, sentenced to 30 days in jail
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- AG’s office no longer prosecuting Horry County principal connected to abuse case
Police arrested McColgan in November 2022 after witnesses came forward, stating that she would rub hand sanitizer in a child’s open wound. They also told authorities she would hit students and leave them in seclusion in the dark.
Prosecutors said the children involved also had “moderate to severe special needs,” mostly dealing with autism with many of them nonverbal and ranging in age from seven to 10 years old.
As part of her plea agreement, McColgan also agreed to voluntarily permanently surrender her educator certificate. This means her educator certificate will become invalid and revoked immediately. The surrender of her educator certificate will also be reported to all school districts in South Carolina.
The board accepted the consent order on August 8.
Ocean Bay Elementary School principal Rebecca Schroyer was also arrested in connection with the case. She is charged with failure to report child abuse or neglect. Schroyer is accused of contacting the district when she learned of McColgan’s abuse but not reporting them to the South Carolina Department of Social Services.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office recently handed Schroyer’s case over to the Department of Education for an “administrative review of her credentials.”
Consent Order of Permanent Voluntary Surrender by Kristin on Scribd
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