Two educators at a Texas elementary school have been suspended following accusations of providing students with special “stickers” intended to induce sleep.
The Spring Independent School District reported that the incident took place on September 24, leading to the immediate removal of the teachers involved from the classroom while a police investigation is underway.
“Northgate Elementary administration was notified by a parent that their child was given a sleeping aid patch in the classroom by their teacher,” a statement shared with The Independent read.
“Upon learning of the allegation the teachers in that classroom were immediately removed and placed on administrative leave.” The district added that “as a precautionary measure,” two paraprofessionals in the classroom had also been placed on administrative leave.
“The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we take every allegation of misconduct seriously,” the statement added.
Parents at the school are upset, stating they received formal notification about the investigation two weeks after the alleged incident took place.
In an interview with ABC Houston, Lisa Luviano shared that her daughter returned from school with a “sticker” featuring pictures of a moon, stars, and clouds.
“She said, ‘It is a sleeping sticker,’” she told the outlet. “I asked, ‘Where did you get this?’ And she said, ‘My teacher gives it to me for sleeping time. “The next day, we went to the school. 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 mentioned that she reached out to other parents at the school regarding the incident. Najla Abdullah inquired whether her four-year-old son had also received a sticker.
“He said, ‘Yes, mommy. I get a special sticker,’” Abdullah told ABC. “I said, ‘What does it look like?’ He said, ‘I get it right here on my hand, and it has the storms with the clouds and the star and the moon.’”
Parents report that their kids have difficulty sleeping after returning home from school.
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The SISD has not disclosed the identities of the teachers involved but noted that the reported actions violated its Board Policy FFAC.
The policy indicates that “no employee is permitted to provide any student with prescription medication, nonprescription medication, herbal substances, anabolic steroids, or dietary supplements of any kind unless authorized by this or other District policy.”
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Parents are raising concerns about the duration of the supposed distribution of sleeping stickers and if any other items have been given to their children.
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