Mother angry over school's decision to show meth video without parental consent
Read more: Local, Education
A scene from A&E's "Meth's Deadly High"
MONTGOMERY CITY -- A Montgomery City mother is furious at her son's middle school for showing a documentary about meth - a film she says was way too graphic.
"Meth's Deadly High," Produced by A&E more than 10 years ago, was shown to seventh graders at the Montgomery County R-2 Junior High School. The movie has a TV-14 rating and was shown to kids largely under 14, without parental notification.
Teasha Miller wasn't happy when her son, Wes, told her about a video he watched at school.
"When my son told me that he learned how to make meth, and how to package it, and how to hide a meth lab I was a little concerned," said Miller.
She says the documentary, which was shown to the seventh graders during health class, showed people using and reacting to meth.
"We were not notified and we're normally notified via consent form, even if a Disney movie is going to be shown," said Miller. "I think that this was way out of line."
KRCG News was able to screen a small portion of the documentary. One online review said the film depicts, among other things, "drug agents breaking up a meth lab and what these agents are doing to control this increasing drug problem."
"Everyone was pretty much just thinking this video is too graphic for us," said Wes Miller, the seventh grader who watched the movie.
The film has a TV-14 rating, which means it contains material that some parents might consider unsuitable for children under 14.
"If I were going to want my children to watch something like this, I want it to be in my home to where I can explain it to them," said Miller. "That is my job to do, not theirs."
The Montgomery County Sheriffs Department says that as recently as six years ago, Montgomery County was ranked among the top five counties in the state for meth labs. And, they say, it's important to educate kids about the dangers of meth.
Superintendent Greg Koetting admitted it was a mistake to show the film to a seventh grade audience. He said the faculty assumed it was alright because the movie was in the school's library. But he says teachers should have prescreened it first and sent a letter home to parents before it was shown.
Koetting said Montgomery County administrators will develop a protocol to make sure this doesn't happen again.
