SPRING, TX - Officials announced that the Spring Independent School District (ISD) has placed a Northgate Elementary School teacher and two paraprofessionals on administrative leave for allegedly giving a child a sleeping aid patch in the classroom.
According to reports, a statement released by the district states that a parent notified the Northgate Elementary administration that their child had received the patch from a teacher. That teacher has since been removed from the classroom and two paraprofessionals who work in the same classroom were also placed on administrative leave. The Spring ISD Police Department will be conducting an investigation into the alleged incident.
KHOU reported that parents of the child said that their kid told them that they were given "sleepy stickers" that would make them fall asleep. Four-year-old Layne Luviano said, "The sticker makes me fall asleep." Layne brought home one of the stickers back in September. Her mother, Lisa, said that the sticker was suspicious and she immediately started doing some research online.
She quickly found the sleeping patches being sold on Amazon. The patches are for adults and contain melatonin and other ingredients. The mother took what she found to the school and learned that other parents were never notified, even after she told administrators that her daughter said other students were also getting the "sleepy stickers." That is when Lisa decided to take matters into her own hands and started contacting other parents, advising them to speak to their children.
Another mom, Melissa Gilford said, "I showed it to my four-year-old and she said, 'Yes, that's the sleepy sticker.'" Gilford's daughter is also in Layne's class. She also decided to go online and do some research about the product. She said, "They're called Sleep Z Patch and if you read the ingredients it has a lot of things I've never even heard of."
Najala Abdullah said that she has noticed changes in her son since school started. She said he was crying more than usual and was not eating. She said he would bring home lunches that had not been touched. Abdullah said, "They're giving them drugs to make them sleep to keep them quiet." The parents met with ISD administration on Tuesday, October 8th, who told them not to discuss the allegations because doing so would harm the investigation.
Legal analyst Carmen Roe looked into the legal ramifications of the alleged incident. She said, "I don't see anything that makes these actions criminal because there seems to be no actual or potential harm to the children. As far as civil liability, parents could sue the teachers or school district for negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and arguably civil assault. Keeping in mind, teachers and districts have significant civil immunity protections in Texas.
I did look up Klova patches used and they don't appear to be marketed to children which raises the question about what effect it has on children versus its claims for use with adults." Spring ISD released the following statement on Wednesday, October 9th:
"Spring ISD is aware of allegations that two staff members at Northgate Crossing Elementary School allegedly administered sleeping supplements to students on September 24th. 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 on a safe and nurturing environment."
Later that day, the district sent an updated statement saying, "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 district noted the policy that they said was violated by this incident, which states, "No employee shall give any student prescription medication, nonprescription medication, herbal supplements, anabolic steroids, or dietary supplements of any type, except as authorized by this or other District Policy."
According to reports, a statement released by the district states that a parent notified the Northgate Elementary administration that their child had received the patch from a teacher. That teacher has since been removed from the classroom and two paraprofessionals who work in the same classroom were also placed on administrative leave. The Spring ISD Police Department will be conducting an investigation into the alleged incident.
KHOU reported that parents of the child said that their kid told them that they were given "sleepy stickers" that would make them fall asleep. Four-year-old Layne Luviano said, "The sticker makes me fall asleep." Layne brought home one of the stickers back in September. Her mother, Lisa, said that the sticker was suspicious and she immediately started doing some research online.
She quickly found the sleeping patches being sold on Amazon. The patches are for adults and contain melatonin and other ingredients. The mother took what she found to the school and learned that other parents were never notified, even after she told administrators that her daughter said other students were also getting the "sleepy stickers." That is when Lisa decided to take matters into her own hands and started contacting other parents, advising them to speak to their children.
Another mom, Melissa Gilford said, "I showed it to my four-year-old and she said, 'Yes, that's the sleepy sticker.'" Gilford's daughter is also in Layne's class. She also decided to go online and do some research about the product. She said, "They're called Sleep Z Patch and if you read the ingredients it has a lot of things I've never even heard of."
Najala Abdullah said that she has noticed changes in her son since school started. She said he was crying more than usual and was not eating. She said he would bring home lunches that had not been touched. Abdullah said, "They're giving them drugs to make them sleep to keep them quiet." The parents met with ISD administration on Tuesday, October 8th, who told them not to discuss the allegations because doing so would harm the investigation.
Legal analyst Carmen Roe looked into the legal ramifications of the alleged incident. She said, "I don't see anything that makes these actions criminal because there seems to be no actual or potential harm to the children. As far as civil liability, parents could sue the teachers or school district for negligence, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and arguably civil assault. Keeping in mind, teachers and districts have significant civil immunity protections in Texas.
I did look up Klova patches used and they don't appear to be marketed to children which raises the question about what effect it has on children versus its claims for use with adults." Spring ISD released the following statement on Wednesday, October 9th:
"Spring ISD is aware of allegations that two staff members at Northgate Crossing Elementary School allegedly administered sleeping supplements to students on September 24th. 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 on a safe and nurturing environment."
Later that day, the district sent an updated statement saying, "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 district noted the policy that they said was violated by this incident, which states, "No employee shall give any student prescription medication, nonprescription medication, herbal supplements, anabolic steroids, or dietary supplements of any type, except as authorized by this or other District Policy."
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