Maryland has strict rules about who can give students medication while they’re at school. There’s an 18-page guidebook explaining it all.
But a federal lawsuit alleges that a former Baltimore County Public Schools teacher gave her entire class of students with disabilities melatonin so they’d fall asleep in 2024. While melatonin is a dietary supplement rather than a drug, it falls into a category of substances tightly restricted in schools.
Here’s what we know about the situation and the rules around medication administration:
The allegations
Principals at Maiden Choice School, a special education school in Catonsville, noticed that students in the class were napping in the middle of the day, according to a lawsuit filed by Tiffany Council, the mother of one of the students. When the behavior continued for six weeks straight, administrators suspected foul play, the lawsuit alleges.
Council believed her son had been given melatonin without her consent. Her son is autistic and nonverbal, court records show. Council’s lawyers wrote that she remembered the teacher, Xenia Murchison, previously recommending she give her son melatonin.
Council is accusing Maiden Choice School, the school system, the school board, Murchison and the school principal of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence.
Baltimore County Public Schools officials declined to comment on the case. Lawyers for Council and Murchison did not respond to requests for comment.
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone in your body that impacts sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic: “The production and release of melatonin in the brain is connected to time of day, increasing when it’s dark and decreasing when it’s light.”
It’s also a dietary supplement sold over the counter. People commonly use it to help with sleep disorders.
Who is allowed to give medications and supplements to students?
Maryland’s Department of Education and Department of Health task school nurses with implementing a medication administration policy at each school. Parents should be told each year what that policy is.
At minimum, each policy should require a parent to administer the first dose of a new medication, except in emergency situations. A record should be kept that includes who took the drug, the date and time it was given, the dosage and the signature of the person who administered it.
Written parent consent is required for each medication ordered and must be renewed annually. Each district should have an emergency drug administration protocol.
“All prescription medication given in school must be ordered by a person authorized to prescribe the medication,” the state’s guidance says. That can include a physician, a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner.
The guidebook adds that supplements should be treated like prescription drugs when it comes to giving them to students.
What happens if school staff give medication to students without permission?
Baltimore County Public Schools officials said the accused teacher is no longer with the school system but would not say whether Murchison resigned or was fired.
At a Wednesday press conference, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said nurses and health assistants are authorized to give medicine to students. Every school has an emergency medicine administration plan, she said, which allows trained professionals to dispense medicine.
If there is a concern that the policy was violated, it should be reported and investigated, Rogers said. Consequences for the violator could be as serious as termination, and the situation could be reported to law enforcement, she said.
Is it a crime to give students melatonin without permission?
Baltimore County Police are not investigating the situation. Trae Corbin, a public information officer for the department, told The Banner, “At this time this is not a criminal matter.”
Has this happened before?
Sharon Saroff, a special education advocate based in Baltimore County, said she has not heard of a situation like this happening in Maryland. However, similar incidents have been reported elsewhere in the nation.
A Texas kindergarten teacher resigned in 2023 after giving melatonin gummies to students with disabilities.
About the Education Hub
This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.
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