Sleeping pills, stabbing stun Cedar Hill schools

by Steve Snyder of TODAY Newspapers

Three students at the Cedar Hill Ninth Grade Center have been released from the hospital after ingesting what appears to be a prescription sedative, possibly Ambien, Dec. 4.

An ambulance came to the school late in the morning. The three students were taken to Methodist Charlton Medical Center and Children's Medical Center, according to school officials. Cedar Hill Independent School District police arrested two other girls who are classmates of the students who became ill.

The two students have been charged with delivery of a controlled substance to a minor on school premises. The offense is a third-degree felony.

Spokesman Kim Lewis said one girl may have passed out for a few minutes. That and other signs of their behavior point to a prescription sedative, he said.

“The symptoms looked like some sort of sedative,” he said. “One person at the scene (reportedly) said ‘Ambien,' but that could be a generic word.”

School district police are still looking at where students got the prescription medication.

“We're speculating they got them at home, but we don't know that,” Lewis said.

School district police had their hands busy with a stabbing reported the same day. The stabbing involved a 17-year old student, but because it was found to have happened outside of school property, at Bradford Park, which is just north of High Point and Highlands elementary schools, the investigation was handed off to the Cedar Hill Police Department.

Police Lt. Steve Lafferty said the suspect was a juvenile, and the motive was still under investigation.

To address parental concerns about student use of both illicit drugs and prescription mediations, the school district will host a district-wide Parent Meeting Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m., in the Cedar Hill Ninth Grade Center. The focus of this meeting is to address concerns regarding drug use by students of the district. Parents will receive valuable information from local medical professionals; to include the affects of drugs on the adolescent body, signs of drug use/ abuse, helpful resources and intervention strategies planned by the district. Parents of students in grades seven-12 are strongly encouraged to attend.

CHISD School Board Trustee Mike Marshall, a doctor, will be among the speakers at the forum. He said he will be talking about the effects of drugs on adolescents and development.