In Spring, Texas, there is an ongoing police investigation into the allegations of two elementary preschool teachers at Northgate Crossing Elementary School putting melatonin-infused “sleeping stickers” on their students during nap time.
“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,” the Spring Independent School District (Spring ISD) says in a public statement made to news outlets and parents. The teachers involved were not identified.
The incident started in late September when Lisa Luviano, a mother of a 4-year-old Northgate student in the class, noticed that her child had come home with a sticker. When asked where she received it, she said that her teacher gives it to her for sleeping time. The next day, Luviano went to the school with the evidence and filed a report. She also sent out a mass text to other parents, advising them to speak with their kids about the patch, to which many parents came forward with concerns about behavioral changes in their children.
The stickers have been identified as a Klova Sleep ZPatch, a type of sleeping aid containing melatonin and other “naturally occurring ingredients” designed for those over the age of 18. The stickers come in the shape of a square, with rounded edges, a pale purple background, and a crescent moon with two clouds passing by. However, while they may seem like a harmless way to get kids to sleep faster, these patches contain more than double the recommended dose of melatonin for children aged 3-5.
This is not the first time an incident like this has occurred in Texas.
In 2023, a teacher at Pine Forest Elementary School in Humble (a suburb of Houston) gave melatonin gummies to students in her special education class without notifying parents, the school nurse, or the principal. The school district was informed of the situation September 28th, and the teacher resigned.
Additionally, another teacher in the Spring ISD was also placed on administrative leave in December of 2023 after being accused by three mothers of giving melatonin gummies to several second-grade students at the International School at Salyers Elementary. According to Harris County district officials, the teacher was removed from the classroom, but the investigation is still pending.
Details remain unclear as to how long the children at Northgate Crossing Elementary School had the stickers on, or the full extent of the situation. Parents said they met with Spring ISD administrators, who told them not to discuss the allegations because doing so would harm the investigation. “Who is guilty for this? Who had been doing this to our kids? Because they are not telling what the side effects are in the long run,” Luviano said to ABC Houston affiliate KTRK. Parents are unsatisfied with Texas school district’s two-week delayed communication, and call their trust broken.
