Hilton Head elem. teacher gets license suspended after 2024 arrest for alleged assault
State officials have temporarily suspended the license of a Hilton Head Island elementary school teacher after her arrest last summer for allegedly trying to hit a man with her car in a parking lot.
Michelle Latress Howard, 50, of Hilton Head, was summarily stripped of her educator certificate Dec. 18 by the South Carolina Board of Education. The summary suspension would last “until a due process hearing is held and/or this matter is otherwise resolved,” board chair Rita Allison wrote.
The disciplinary order cited Howard’s June 2024 arrest for felony assault and battery and a misdemeanor hit-and-run offense, saying the “serious nature” of the pending charges gives officials reason to believe she “may pose a threat to the health, safety and welfare of students.”
Since her arrest, Howard had been under paid administrative leave from the Beaufort County School District, according to district spokesperson Candace Bruder. Howard’s name still appeared in an online employee directory as of Friday.
Howard taught fifth grade at the Hilton Head Island Elementary School for the Creative Arts, a public school that combines an arts curriculum with traditional academic classes. The school has an enrollment of about 500 students from preschool to fifth grade.
Both of Howard’s charges remained pending in Beaufort County court. Judicial records show she was indicted on the accusations in August, meaning a grand jury ruled there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Howard and her lawyer did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Details of the arrest
Beaufort County deputies arrested Howard the evening of June 21, 2024, following a clash with another driver over her paid parking spot at the Bluffton-area Emerson Isles apartments.
Howard told police on scene that a Lincoln was parked in front of her spot and the driver refused to move, so she “inched up” toward the car with her vehicle. The driver then stood between the two vehicles and began kicking her car before jumping onto the hood, according to her statement documented in a sheriff’s office incident report.
But statements from other witnesses — including three people who were not involved in the incident — told a different story, the police report says.
Calling Howard the “primary aggressor,” the witnesses said she backed up her car, accelerated forward and “intentionally rammed” into the Lincoln at around 10 mph. The driver of the Lincoln, who was standing between the two vehicles, jumped onto the hood “to avoid being struck” by the encroaching vehicle, they told police.
Howard left the scene of the collision “to go back to her friend’s house,” she told deputies. Her friend, who was in the passenger seat at the time of the incident, declined to give a written statement to police.
Officers on scene noted the plastic on the Lincoln’s rear bumper was “punctured and cut” and that the damage lined up with witnesses’ account of the events.
Citing the damaged Lincoln and corroborating witness statements, the deputy charged Howard with first-degree assault and battery and hit-and-run. Court records say she was released from the Beaufort County jail the day after her arrest on a personal recognizance bond, meaning she would not have to pay bail unless she violated court conditions.
