A playground swing set sits unused. Credit: Unsplash / Aaron Burden

A special ed teacher has resigned from her job at an East Texas school district after parents alleged she gave melatonin gummies to students to make them chill out, Houston TV station ABC 13 reports.

The teacher taught kindergarteners at Pine Forest Elementary School in the Humble Independent School District just north of Houston, the TV station reports.

One mother told ABC 13 that her 5-year-old nonverbal child came home acting lethargic on at least three separate occasions and even stumbled getting off the bus. That mother also told the station that the teacher previously called her asking if the child liked gummies or took gummy vitamins. The teacher also reportedly said she’d had trouble getting the student to calm down.

Despite the phone call, the teacher never asked the parent if she could feed the child melatonin, ABC13 reports.

Melatonin activates a chemical in the brain that induces sleepiness by tricking peoples’ internal clocks into believing it’s nighttime, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The gummies containing melatonin are available in pharmacies across Texas.

In a statement sent to ABC13, Humble ISD said its internal probe revealed that the teacher had slipped sleeping aids to students.

“The district took immediate action to launch an investigation,” according to the district’s statement. “Our investigation found that the teacher did give out melatonin, acing on her own and without obtaining parent permission.”

Humble ISD officials also told the TV station they reported the incident to the State Board of Educator Certification and that police are also looking into the matter.

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This article appears in Oct 4-17, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...