Teachers in Texas are under investigation for allegedly giving sleeping pills to elementary school students

SPRING, Texas (CITC) — Several employees at a Texas elementary school are under investigation after students were allegedly given sleeping pills in class.

The investigation was launched after a parent notified Northgate Cross Elementary School administrators that her child had received one of the patches. Lisa Luviano told KHOU 11 that her 4-year-old daughter secretly brought one home, explaining to her mother, “The sticker puts me to sleep.”

Luviano reportedly researched the patch and discovered that it was a Sleep ZPatch. Such patches contain various ingredients, including melatonin and ashwagandha, and are not recommended for children.

According to KHOU 11, Luviano then alerted other parents to her results, with several confirming that their children had also received the patches. Some reportedly said their children had recently started exhibiting unusual behavior, including an inability to sleep at night.

“Every night my son comes home. He stays awake. He doesn’t sleep,” mother Najla Abdullah told KHOU 11.

“I just felt bad because everything she went through made sense,” Luviano reportedly said of her daughter.

The Spring Independent School District (Spring ISD) told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) that teachers in the Northgate classroom were “immediately removed” and placed on administrative leave following the allegations. The district said two classroom aides were also placed on leave as a “precautionary measure.”

The matter is being investigated by the Spring ISD Police Department. Spring ISD school board policy states that employees may not “give students any prescription, non-prescription medications, herbal substances, anabolic steroids, or nutritional supplements of any kind” without district approval.

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“The safety of our students is our top priority and we take any allegations of misconduct seriously,” a district spokesperson told CITC. “We ask our community to be patient as SISD police conduct their investigation.”

This is not the first time Spring ISD has faced such allegations. In December, the district investigated a teacher at its Salyers International School for allegedly giving melatonin gummies to second-graders without parental consent.

Last October, a kindergarten teacher in the nearby Humble Independent School District resigned over a similar incident, KPRC-TV reported. The teacher allegedly gave special education students melatonin gummies without parental consent and without alerting school nurses.

Do you have something for them? Crisis in the classroom Investigation team? Call or text the national tip line at 202-417-7273.