Is Your Child’s School Trustworthy?

Parental attention is vital for strong family, communities, states, and nations. Parents should be aware of normal behavior in order to know when behavior becomes abnormal and then act to find the reason for the irregular actions. Parents in Spring, Texas, recently discovered questionable behavior from their children and found the reason was in the school. 

A group of parents accused teachers within Texas’ Spring Independent School District of giving their preschool-age children “sleepy stickers” – apparently body-worn patches that release melatonin and other substances.

Lisa Luviano told WKRC-TV her daughter first brought the sleep patches to her attention last month.

“The sticker makes me fall asleep,” four-year-old Layne reportedly told Luviano.

Luviano told the news outlet that her daughter arrived home from school one day and showed her parents the patch, which she was still wearing at the time….

The concerned mother told KTRK-TV that her girl said her teacher gave her the stickers “for sleeping time.”

Joseph Luviano was already suspicious that something was wrong because Layne was not falling asleep at night, at least one night after 2:00 A.M. Layne’s parents wasted no time in acting on the information. Lisa visited the school the very next day to file a report with the intention of filing criminal charges.

Lisa also took a picture of the sleep patch – purple and blue with “illustrations of a moon, clouds, and stars” – and sent the picture to other parents in her child’s class. Several parents indicated that their children recognized the patch and called it a sleepy patch. The parents also said that the behavior of their children had changed also – not sleeping, not eating lunch.

Another parent filed a report with the school and another one with Child Protective Services. The school district issued the following statement:

“Spring ISD is aware of allegations that two staff members at Northgate Crossing Elementary School allegedly administered sleeping supplements to students on Sept. 24.

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,” the district stated.

Last December a Spring ISD staff member was placed on administrative leave after allegedly giving melatonin gummies to students.

Melatonin, which is sold as an over-the-counter nutritional supplement, is not regulated by the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

There are differing opinions about how an appropriate dose of melatonin for children. In fact, no extensive studies have been done, according to Children’s Health. However, one organization “recommends one to three milligrams for toddlers and preschool-age children,” while another one “recommends just one to two milligrams for children around 5 years old and up to three for children 6 to 12.”

Parents are the guardians for their children and must be aware of dangers facing their children. They cannot assume that their children are always safe in what should be safe situations. They should be aware of what their child’s normal behavior is and seek answers for any abnormal behavior. By diligently guarding their children, they can strengthen their family, community, state, and nation.