(Texas Scorecard) – Parents say that preschool teachers at an elementary school in the Houston area have been giving their children melatonin patches without their consent.
A four-year-old student sparked the investigation when she returned home from Northgate Crossing Elementary School with a reportedly suspicious sticker. Her mother, Lisa Luviano, grew concerned and began doing research online. Luviano found that the stickers were sleep aid patches marketed toward adults and contained melatonin.
“I showed it to my 4-year-old and she said, ‘Yes, that’s the sleepy sticker,’” parent Melissa Gilford corroborated.
Another parent, Najala Abdullah, explained that her child was crying more than usual and displaying a lack of appetite. “They’re giving them drugs to make them sleep to keep them quiet,” Abdullah said.
Parents confirmed the stickers were Klova Z Patches, which contain 3 milligrams of melatonin and a list of ingredients used to mitigate feelings of anxiety. Melatonin is not recommended for children under 5 according to Aarti Grover, the medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center.
“Northgate Elementary administration was notified by a parent that their child was given a sleeping aid patch in the classroom by their teacher,” according to the most recent statement from Spring Independent School District. “Upon learning of the allegation the teachers in that classroom were immediately removed and placed on administrative leave.”
The district also placed two paraprofessionals in that classroom on administrative leave pending the investigation by Spring ISD Police Department. According to the district, this incident violated “our Board Policy FFAC (LOCAL).”
The policy states, “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.”
“The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we take every allegation of misconduct seriously. We ask for our community’s patience as the SISD Police Department conducts their investigation,” concluded the statement from the district.
Texas Scorecard reached out to Spring ISD for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.