Two teachers in Texas have been suspended after children reported to their parents that they had been drugged to sleep.
The Northgate Crossing Elementary School, which is part of Texas’ Spring Independent School District, has announced that two teachers were placed on leave after it was revealed that they had been drugging children with “sleepy stickers” designed for adults.
SPRING, Texas – Parents of preschool students at a Spring ISD elementary school said teachers have been giving their children sleeping aides.
They said their children told them they were given "sleepy stickers" that would make them fall asleep.
Four-year-old Layne Luviano broke… pic.twitter.com/42kL7EsIkc
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Lisa Luviano spoke out about the teachers’ shocking actions after her four-year-old daughter, Layne, smuggled one of the stickers home in September — reportedly telling her mom: “The sticker makes me fall asleep.”
Another parent, Melissa Gilford, expressed concern about the ingredients in the so-called “sleepy stickers” — pointing out that there are “a lot of things” she’s never heard of listed in the stickers’ ingredients.
“I showed it to my 4-year-old and she said, ‘Yes, that’s the sleepy sticker,’” Gilford told local news outlet KHOU 11. “They’re called Sleep Z Patch, and if you read the ingredients it has a lot of things I’ve never even heard of.”
Meanwhile, these stickers weren’t just making students sleepy — as another mother, Najala Abdullah, has reported that her son experienced significant changes in his behavior since the start of the school year, including crying more than usual and eating less.
“They’re giving them drugs to make them sleep to keep them quiet,” Abdullah added.
Parents outraged after their kids were given "sleepy stickers" to make them fall asleep while they were at school. pic.twitter.com/lUyhO9VwoT
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The school’s principal announced the suspensions in an email, confirming that the police had been informed of the matter and have launched an investigation into the teachers.
Spring Independent School District also released a statement to KHOU 11 about the scandal.
“Northgate Elementary administration was notified by a parent that their child was given a sleeping aid patch in the classroom by their teacher. Upon learning of the allegation the teachers in that classroom were immediately removed and placed on administrative leave. As a precautionary measure, two paraprofessionals in that classroom have also been placed on administrative leave pending the ongoing investigation by the Spring ISD Police Department, as this incident violates our Board Policy FFAC (LOCAL),” the statement read.
The district also confirmed that the teachers’ alleged actions had violated school policy, stating: “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.”
In covering the story, KHOU 11’s legal analyst Carmen Roe claimed that the drugging of these students was not technically criminal because there was supposedly “no actual or potential harm to the children” — though she acknowledged that civil liabilities could apply.
“[P]arents could sue the teachers or school district for negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and arguably civil assault,” Carmen said.
