In a recent incident at a Northgate Crossing elementary school in Springs, Texas, concerns have arisen after a teacher allegedly distributed sleep aid patches to young children. This discovery was made by Lisa Luviano, the mother of a four-year-old attending the school’s attached preschool. One day, Luviano’s daughter came home with a sticker featuring a starry night design. When Luviano asked her where it came from, her daughter replied, “It’s a sleep aid patch, my teacher gave it to me to help me sleep.”
Alarmed by this revelation, Luviano feared that the patches might contain melatonin, a hormone known to aid sleep, as indicated by the National Institutes of Health. She expressed her anxiety, stating, “Just thinking about what happened at school makes me very anxious.”
The following day, Luviano reported the incident to the school administration, but felt her concerns were not addressed promptly. Frustrated, she told a local KTRK television reporter, “The school said they would look into it and that they fully support parents, yet two days have passed and the teacher is still at the school.”
Another parent, Najla Abdullah, received a message from Luviano and began to question her own four-year-old son about any “special stickers” he might have received. He confirmed, saying, “Yes, Mom. I got a special sticker.” When asked what it looked like, he described it as something he placed on his arm that had storms, clouds, stars, and the moon—essentially, a sleep aid patch.
In response, Abdullah and other parents began contacting the school and reported the situation to child protective services. The Northgate Crossing elementary school’s parent association later stated that the school confirmed via email that two teachers and two aides involved in the distribution of the sleep aid patches had been suspended while the investigation was underway. During this time, the individuals involved have been placed on administrative leave.
The school’s email remarked, “Learning that a teacher may have given students melatonin is truly disturbing and absolutely unacceptable.” They emphasized that no staff should administer medication to students without proper procedures.
As of now, the individuals involved in this case have not faced any charges. Luviano, speaking to reporters, labeled their actions as “completely unacceptable,” stating, “We send our children to school expecting them to be safe there. We trust our teachers, and for something like this to happen is just unbelievable.”
