Teacher Forced Out After Giving Elementary Students Sleep Aids

(LibertySociety.com) – A special education teacher has resigned after it was discovered that she was drugging kindergarten students with melatonin. The Humble, Texas, school said that it had received reports that a Pine Forest Elementary School teacher had given gummies to “a few of her students” in the month of September. A statement from the school said, “We are appalled that the teacher made this decision,” adding that they had reported the matter to authorities and the State Board for Educator Certification. Child Protective Services (CPS) was also contacted by the school. While the teacher’s name remains unknown at this time, the school argued that asking her to resign was the right approach, as the termination process is lengthy.

One parent, whose 5-year-old child is nonverbal, reported that the teacher called more than once to ask about ways to calm the child down. The parent said that the teacher also asked if the child liked gummies. The parent said that their child arrived at home in a state of lethargy three times and had trouble exiting the school bus. The school’s investigation found that the teacher gave the gummies to the 5-year-old and other students without permission from parents or without notifying the administration or the school nurse.

While the students were reportedly doing fine after the incident, dispensing medication without permission can lead to an overdose, especially if multiple people are unknowingly administering the same medication. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid, and nearly 46 percent of parents have used it to help their children fall asleep. However, melatonin is only regulated as a dietary supplement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dietary supplements do not face as much scrutiny by the FDA as other drugs and reports of overdoses have spiked in recent years. The CDC reported in 2022 that melatonin use among children had increased by 530 percent over the last nine years. Hospitalization due to overdose has also increased, as many children mistake the gummies for candy.