ELGIN, Texas — On Thursday, just one day after school started, Brandi Hernandez got a call from the Elgin Middle School nurse around noon, saying her son was unwell.
"He was just like real drowsy, his eyes were real red, his whole body was just kind of like slumped,” Hernandez explained.
She says her eighth-grader was in math class when another student offered him a ‘Tic Tac.’
"A student had told him to take [it] because he had bad breath, so it was in a ‘Tic Tac’ bottle,” Hernandez said. “He took it and when he chewed it, he tried to wipe it because it tasted funny. And nothing would come out because it already dissolved.”
Hernandez says the other student allegedly told her son that he gave him a drug and laughed.
Her son then went to his football coach crying, telling him what happened, before going to the school nurse.
After picking her child up from school, Hernandez took him to the hospital.
"They did blood work, a urine sample and it came back positive for the Xanax pill,” she said.
Jodi Duron, the Elgin ISD Superintendent told Spectrum News:
“The incident involving a student at Elgin Middle School is a matter that the district takes very seriously. Appropriate steps are being taken by the campus administration to fully investigate this matter. “
Hernandez says her son has been suspended for three days, along with three other students, but she argues her son's suspension sends the wrong message.
"He went to the coach, so now he feels like he doesn't know if he did wrong because now he's suspended," said Hernandez.
And it's not just a matter for the school to handle.
Elgin's police chief tells Spectrum News a police investigation is ongoing.
This is a developing story. Spectrum News will provide updates as they become available.