Two school teachers are under investigation for giving 'sleeping stickers' to preschoolers in a horrifying incident at Northgate Crossing Elementary School in Spring, Texas. Reports say that these were melatonin stickers for adults which are often used as sleeping aids.
The incident came to light in September when a student named Layne Luviano returned home after sneaking one of the blue sleeping stickers with stars and moons made on it that she excitedly shared with her mother, Lisa Luviano.
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When Lisa Luviano asked her daughter where she got the sticker from, she reported to KHOU 11, her local TV station that her daughter said:
"My teacher gives it to me for sleeping time."
Upon a quick Amazon search, Lisa Luviano found that these sleeping stickers were being sold as sleeping supplements for adults and contained melatonin along with other active ingredients unfit for children.
Lisa then contacted another mother named Melissa Gilford who also had a 4-year-old daughter in the same class. After further research, Mellissa 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"
Lisa Luviano also said that she intended to pursue criminal charges against the two educators. After two weeks passed without action from the school district, Lisa Luviano decided to alert other parents by sending a group text, encouraging them to discuss the sleeping stickers with their children.
Many parents echoed her worries after talking with their kids, including Najala Abdullah, who shared that her son had been unusually emotional, crying more frequently and struggling with eating and sleeping since the start of the school year.
On 7 October, Tuesday, parents reported that they had a meeting with Spring Independent School District officials, who advised them to refrain from discussing the allegations to avoid jeopardizing the investigation.
Additionally, they learned that two teacher aides assigned to the preschoolers were placed on leave that same day and their names have not been released yet.
What's the controversy surrounding sleeping stickers?
The Spring Independent School District policy states that the teachers are not authorized to give any prescription or non-prescription medication to students under any circumstances. It says:
"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."
However, the use of sleeping stickers by educators isn't a new phenomenon. In December 2023, a preschool teacher in California was also dismissed for using these patches on young children.
However, the Northgate Crossing Elementary School incident has sparked a bigger debate on the ethical implications of educators administering substances or treatments without parental consent.
This situation has raised concerns about the boundaries of teacher authority and the potential consequences for students' health and well-being.
According to a report by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), there has been a whopping 530% rise in melatonin poisoning among kids in the past 10 years.
While the Northgate Crossing Elementary School's 'sleeping stickers' controversy is far from over, educational institutes need to have stricter rules in place to protect young students from direct or indirect mental or physical harm.
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