WINNSBORO — A former teacher at Midlands STEM Institute is suing the charter school for retaliation, claiming her then-supervisors created intolerable working conditions after she alerted them to violations in the school’s special education program.
The complainant, Ivy Holmes, said the untenable situation had forced her to resign from the school last fall after just a few months as a special education teacher.
The action of school officials — including its CEO, principal and special education director — violated the state’s whistleblower law and led to her constructive discharge, according to Holmes’ lawsuit filed in Fairfield County this month.
She is asking the court for a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages, including payment for lost wages and benefits.
Kevin Thomas, board chairman of Midlands STEM, declined to comment on the case because litigation is ongoing.
Holmes filed suit half a year after leaving Fairfield County’s lone charter school in October. Earlier that month, her lawsuit states, she told administrators she’d found compliance issues with the school’s special education program and urged them to notify parents and the school district.
While reviewing school records in August and September, she found that some students with disabilities were “missing substantial required documentation” in their career portfolios. The portfolios are among the school requirements for special-needs students who follow a work-based track, rather than a diploma program.
Holmes also said she saw that some students had not received the special education services they were guaranteed under the law.
School officials had expected her to “alter or recreate legal documents” and assume responsibility for actions that took place before she was hired, her lawsuit states.
When she refused to participate in conduct she deemed illegal under state and federal laws, Holmes said school administrators began retaliating against her, including making verbal attacks, threatening discipline and suspending her work email account.
She said the intolerable conditions resulted in her “constructive discharge,” or one where she felt compelled to resign.
Her lawsuit came shortly after the S.C. Department of Education released its third investigative report since October 2025, reports that found Midlands STEM’s special education program did not follow certain legal requirements.
School officials acknowledged the deficiencies that the state identified and said they were working with the school district, Charter Institute at Erskine, to implement the agency’s list of corrective measures.
“There’s some things we need to work on, and we’re taking accountability for that,” Kevin Thomas, the board chairman, told The Voice. “We’ve overhauled our SPED department,” he said, referring to the school’s special education unit.
He said the school’s director of special education, Felisa Kendall, is leaving at the end of the school year and her replacement has been hired. Principal Chantell Berry has departed, and school CEO T.K. Kennedy is serving as interim principal.
When asked how the education department’s findings might impact her lawsuit, Holmes declined to discuss this.
But she told The Voice her concerns have always focused on services for special-needs students, school compliance, transparency and accountability.