HUMBLE, Texas — A kindergarten teacher in Texas has resigned after getting caught slipping melatonin gummies to students in a special education class.
And now, a mother of a five-year-old boy is speaking out. She said this is distressing because he's non-verbal, so he can't communicate if something's happening at school.
This mom says she's afraid to send her 5-year-old son to school after the principal called saying his teacher was secretly slipping him and other students’ melatonin.
"They found it was melatonin gummies,” said the mom. “I don't know the strength. They did find the bottle in the classroom from what I understand. We just noticed at least on three occasions when he came home, he was completely lethargic, he was stumbling to get off the bus."
Her son Wylder is non-verbal and is in a special education class at Pine Forest Elementary. She says his teacher has called her before.
"She had called me a few times asking what you do at home, what do you suggest at home to get him to calm down, he's very active and we sometimes have a hard time getting him to focus back on the task at hand,” said the mom.
"Did she ever mention to you giving him melatonin?
“The only thing now that I think about it is she had asked, besides favorite snacks, does he like gummies, does he take gummy vitamins,” said the mom.
It is possible for children to overdose on melatonin. According to a study from CDC from 2012 to 2021, poison control received more than 260,000 reports of children ingesting melatonin.
4,000 kids were hospitalized during that period, five children placed on ventilators, and two of those children died.
"Your brain naturally produces this but we don't I don't know what dosage it was,” said the mom.
Humble ISD sent us a statement saying in part, "the district took immediate action to launch an investigation. Our investigation found that the teacher did give out melatonin, acting on her own" and without obtaining parent permission.
A spokesperson also says the district is appalled and the teacher's actions were unacceptable.
The teacher - who we aren't naming since she has not been charged - was allowed to resign and no longer works for the district.
But this mother worries she might just apply to a different district.
"It's a breach of trust,” said the mom. “We don't want this happening to somebody else. It was melatonin this time, but what if it was something else?"
When asked why the teacher was not fired, a district spokesperson said accepting a resignation is more efficient.
The district said firing a teacher, under state law, can be a more drawn-out process because there are multiple steps that must happen to end a teacher's contract.
The district said it's conducting an investigation and has reported the incident to the state board of educator certification.
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