HAMILTON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - An investigation is underway in Hamilton County after a mother says her elementary-school-aged child returned home from school with narcotics in his backpack.
Monica Evan’s 8-year-old and 5-year-old sons are both on the autism spectrum. She says her boys will no longer attend classes at Hamilton County Elementary.
Evans says her youngest son came home from school with a bag of narcotic prescription pills.
Evans says she sent her son to school with a folder and pampers in his backpack. School administrators are supposed to check bags each morning when students arrive and each afternoon before students leave, which the mother believes should have been an opportunity for someone to spot the pills before her child left school grounds.
Evans stated her 5-year-old son nearly swallowed the pills before she could intervene.
"When I pulled the object out of his mouth I retrieved a pill and I'm like, where did this pill come from? So, as I said, I remember that the other object that he had in his hand, something white fell out of it," said Evans. "So I took him off the couch, slid the cushion out from the couch, and there laid four more pills."
Evans googled the pills, and found that the bag contained hydrocodone, klonopin, and other unidentifiable prescriptions. She reported the incident to the school resource officer, who opened a case with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.
Evans says that when school administrators finally contacted her, she was told, quote "accidents happen."
We spoke off-camera with Principal Peggy Sue Hasty. She confirms that she did speak with Evans but then referred all questions to Superintendent Rex Mitchell.
Mitchell says he cannot comment about an open investigation, but that he intends to be fair.
