DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Four students at Stephenson Middle School in Stone Mountain reportedly ingested gummies on Wednesday, prompting an investigation by school officials.
What we know:
Administrators said the incident happened on Aug. 13 and that, following district protocol and the Student Code of Conduct, parents were contacted immediately. Three of the students were released to their parents, while one was taken to the hospital.
The other side:
Parents outside the school told FOX 5 Atlanta they were alarmed by the news.
"It’s quite concerning," said Montariouse Dawson, whose son attends the school. "You send your kids to school to get an education, not ingest drugs."
Dawson urged other parents to keep a closer eye on their children. "I would think that the parents would be more vigilant with their kids," he said.
Other parents expressed disbelief. Diamond Maragh, who has an eighth-grade daughter at Stephenson, said, "Yeah, I was surprised to hear about it. I wasn’t sure that children were doing drugs in middle school."
Demetria Kelly, also the parent of an eighth grader, said she enrolled her daughter at Stephenson because she believed it was a good school. "I know how easy it is for a child to think that it’s candy and it’s not," she said. "I have a smart child, so I know she’s not going to be easily influenced or anything."
Still, Kelly questioned how the incident could have happened. "It’s a child taking something that shouldn’t have been taking; shouldn’t have been brought to school at all. She shouldn’t have had access to it at all," she said.
What you can do:
DeKalb County School District is urging parents to speak with their children about exercising caution before eating any food when they are unsure of its origin.
What we don't know:
At this time, it is unknown what kind of gummies the students ingested, who supplied them, and why one student had to be taken to a hospital. The current condition of that student has not been released.
Officials say they are investigating where the gummiest came from.