A U.S. Department of Education crackdown on sexual predators in K-12 schools focuses on 20 districts across the country, including one in South Carolina.
mbergen@thestate.com
COLUMBIA, S.C.
The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into a South Carolina school district suspected of mishandling staff-on-student sexual misconduct as part of a national crackdown on sexual predators in schools.
Marion County School District, a 3,500-student, majority-minority district in the Pee Dee, is one of 20 districts nationwide caught in the Trump administration’s crosshairs after being flagged for its responses to a federal civil rights survey, according to a list obtained by ProPublica.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said its investigation would determine whether the districts in question were appropriately tracking and reporting allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and if their handling of such allegations complied with federal law.
The probe, announced earlier this month, comes amid what the Trump administration said was a “troubling and recurring pattern” of sexual abuse and harassment by adults going uninvestigated in K-12 schools across the country.
In addition to launching investigations into individual districts suspected of noncompliance, the Trump administration also issued guidance reminding federally-funded educational institutions of their legal duty to protect children and respond appropriately to sexual misconduct.
When school administrators protect accused predators from meaningful consequences and help them secure employment in another district — a process known as “passing the trash” — they enable them to continue harming kids, the agency said in a statement.
“Our schools must protect America’s children. Parents should never have to wonder whether their kids’ school employs and protects sexual predators,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement announcing the initiative. “Schools that receive federal funding have a duty to protect students, report sexual misconduct honestly and follow the law.”
A Marion County School District spokeswoman confirmed the district had recently been notified of the federal investigation and said it intended to comply fully with any requests for information.
“We take any allegations of alleged sexual harassment or sexual misconduct between staff and students seriously,” Marion County Schools spokeswoman Susanne Elvington said in a statement. “Upon notice of any concerns, the District investigates and takes appropriate action, consistent with District policy and the law.”
As of Monday, Elvington said the district remained in the dark about the reason for its inclusion in the U.S. Department of Education’s sexual predator crackdown.
When asked about the impetus for the probe, a spokesperson for the federal agency told The State Media Co. it did not comment on open investigations.
A press release announcing the federal initiative to protect students from sexual predators in schools said the agency targeted districts whose 2023-2024 Civil Rights Data Collection submissions contained responses that suggested they might not be addressing staff-on-student sexual misconduct appropriately.
The Civil Rights Data Collection is a long-running biennial survey administered by the U.S. Department of Education that gathers information about a host of civil rights indicators, including harassment and bullying, access to the internet and the availability of advanced placement classes.
The 2023-2024 survey data, on which the Office for Civil Rights investigations apparently rely, has not yet been made public.
Former Marion County educator charged with child sex crimes
Under South Carolina State Board of Education regulations, district superintendents are required to report the names of any certified educators who are dismissed or resign from employment based on misconduct allegations.
The South Carolina Department of Education did not immediately respond when asked whether Marion County Schools or any other districts in the state had failed to adhere to that policy.
In one recent case, a Richland School District 1 teacher who had previously worked in the Marion County School District was charged in Marion County with sexually assaulting two juvenile victims.
Eric Favor Jr., 29, of Columbia, was arrested in February after an “extensive investigation” that began in 2024, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. He is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of intentionally exposing another to HIV, promoting the prostitution of a minor and criminal conspiracy.
Favor worked in the Marion County School District from 2019 to 2022, and in Richland 1 from 2022 until his arrest earlier this year, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The circumstances of Favor’s departure from Marion County Schools are unclear.
Elvington, the district spokeswoman, did not respond to questions about the former teacher.
The Post & Courier reported in February that, according to police incident reports provided by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, one of Favor’s alleged victims told police the teacher had been fired by Marion County School District before going to work in Richland 1.
A Richland 1 spokeswoman said the district hired Favor in August 2022, following a process that included SLED and sex offender background checks, a reference from his previous supervisor and a search of the child abuse and neglect registry.
He was teaching social studies at Lower Richland High School at the time of his Feb. 10 arrest.
The State Board of Education suspended Favor’s educator certificate in March, records show.
This story was originally published July 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
Zak Koeske is a projects reporter for The State. He previously covered state government and politics for the paper. Before joining The State, Zak covered education, government and policing issues in the Chicago area. He’s also written for publications in his native Pittsburgh and the New York/New Jersey area.
