Missouri substitute teacher handed out digestive pills

JENNINGS, Mo. -- Leaders of a St. Louis-area school district are investigating after a substitute teacher gave more than 30 sixth-grade students over-the-counter digestive supplements during a health lesson.

Riverview Gardens spokeswoman Melanie Powell-Robinson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a bottle with a few remaining pills was confiscated after they were offered Friday to students at Westview Middle School.

Powell-Robinson said they were made of papaya enzymes, a plant-based digestive supplement with a listed side effect of stool softening.

It was not clear whether any students ingested the pills. There were no reports of any students suffering side effects.

The teacher told administrators she handed out the pills as part of a lesson plan on digestive health.

Powell-Robinson said the teacher was removed from the substitute list immediately.