A Heber Springs mom is speaking out against her son's school after he was found unconscious from a drug overdose.
KATV spoke with Tonya Main, who said that the district failed to give her son medical attention after he was found unconscious in the bathroom. Main said she got a call from Heber Springs High School on Thursday, October 6, telling her that her son had been found non-responsive.
She said that when she got there, his eyes were open. She would not say her son was coherent, as he was white as a ghost and his blood pressure was 60 over 40. Main claimed that her son overdosed on a drug that another student in the school allegedly sold, but the district is doing nothing about that incident.
Mom questions why her son did not receive any medical attention
One big question that stuck out to Main was why her son did not receive medical attention. Main asked the school nurse this question. She was advised that her son should go home and sleep it off before contacting their primary care physician (PCP), according to KAIT.
Main said she told the nurse she was his mother and legal guardian and that her son's PCP would want him seen. She also told the nurse to call an ambulance. Main said she dropped her son off somewhere she thought he was safe and cared for, and they severely neglected him.
Main said the district claimed they were not allowed to search the students' belongings. Despite this, the mom said they searched her son while he was unconscious. The student handbook states while students have rights, school officials may also search students and their personal property when there is reasonable suspicion to believe such property or student contains illegal items or other items that are dangerous to the school community or in violation of Board policy.
Police chief warns parents to teach their children about drug use
Main said she was informed that a vape, e-cig, was found in his pocket. Her son bought it from the same kid who allegedly sold the drugs. Brian Haile, the Chief of Police in Heber Springs, said that the case is still ongoing, but he confirmed that an incident at the school did occur.
Haile said there were e-cigarettes found on some of the boys, and some of those had THC in them and not nicotine. According to Haile, they saw some of it this year at Sandy Beach, where teens are trying something new, and it can kill them.
Haile said there were 28 arrests recorded in 2021, and 15 arrests have been made this year concerning e-cigarette use in the district. He warned parents to teach their kids about drug use because the school district and their department can only do so much.
