By Maya Mehrara
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Two Texas elementary school teachers have been accused of giving children "special stickers" that act as sleeping supplements.
The Northgate Crossing Elementary School teachers, who have not been named, have been put on administrative leave while the Spring Independent School District's police department investigates the accusations, according to a statement given to local news outlet ABC13 by the district.
One parent, Lisa Luviano, told the outlet that she initially filed a report after her daughter brought back what she described as a "sleeping sticker" from school. She said her teacher often gives them to her at nap time.
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Luviano told KHOU she did some research online and believes that there were melatonin patches being sold on Amazon.
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Luviano said she went with other parents to speak to the school.
She told ABC13, "We brought the evidence up there, and we filed a report. We did say we wanted to file criminal charges if this is something that is true."
Luviano said that after she notified the school, she sent out a mass text to other parents because she didn't believe the school had done so.
Another parent, Najla Abdullah, reportedly called the school and notified Child Protective Services.
Luviano said the parents "want answers."
She added, "Who is guilty for this? Who had been doing this to our kids? Because they are not telling what the side effects are in the long run."
Newsweek reached out to the assistant principal at Northgate Crossing Elementary School and the Spring ISD police department for comment via email outside of business hours.
"As Superintendent of Spring ISD, I want to directly address the recent incident at Northgate Elementary involving two teachers and two paraprofessionals. The report that a teacher allegedly gave a student a sleeping aid is deeply troubling and completely unacceptable. Please rest assured that upon learning of the incident, the staff members involved were immediately removed from the classroom, an administrative and police investigation began, and we addressed the concerns of the student's family, offering our sincerest apology," Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa told Newsweek in a statement.
She continued, "To be clear: it is entirely unacceptable for any staff member to administer any form of medication, including a sleeping aid. This action violates district policy, and Spring ISD has zero tolerance for behaviors that compromise student safety."
Hinojosa added, "In Spring ISD, one of our core values is prioritizing what is best for our students and, regrettably, this incident fell short of that goal. The matter is under investigation, and we will take all necessary steps to prevent this from happening again."
Spring ISD, said in a statement to ABC13: "Spring ISD is aware of allegations that two staff members at Northgate Crossing Elementary School allegedly administered sleeping supplements to students on Sept. 24."
It continues, "These staff members were immediately removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation by the Spring ISD Police Department. The district takes every allegation of educator misconduct seriously and will take all necessary measures to ensure that our students are educated in a safe and nurturing environment."
Spring ISD sent another statement to KHOU, and specified that the incident violates Board Policy FFA, which states that "No employee shall give any student prescription medication, nonprescription medication, herbal substances, anabolic steroids, or dietary supplements of any type, except as authorized by this or other District policy."
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Update 10/11/24, 11:38 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa.
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