An Indiana high school teacher was arrested this week after two students in her classroom mistakenly ate THC-infused gummies she had left “out in the open,” according to local authorities — a lapse that has now triggered criminal charges, a school district investigation, and renewed questions about how such a scenario was allowed to happen at all.

The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office said the incident came to light Friday morning, when the school resource deputy at Angola High School learned that two students had eaten the gummies during their last period class the day before. The students, deputies said, thought they were grabbing ordinary candy.

“The preliminary investigation indicated that the two students involved were in class at the time of the incident and were unaware that the candy they ate contained THC,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “The candy was reportedly located inside the classroom out in the open.”

Investigators soon determined the gummies belonged to 49-year-old Debra McGillem, a language arts teacher at the school. The district lists her as a staff member at Angola High, which sits in the northeastern corner of the state near the Michigan border. McGillem herself lives in Reading, Michigan, about 25 miles away.

Deputies took McGillem into custody on Friday. According to the sheriff’s office, they found additional suspected THC gummies on her at the time of her arrest and determined she had been operating a vehicle while impaired. She now faces two Level 6 felonies — neglect of a dependent and possession of a controlled substance on school property — along with a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Police also alerted the Indiana Department of Child Services as part of the case.

McGillem was booked into the Steuben County Jail on a $6,500 bond, where she remained as of Saturday morning.

In a message to parents posted on Facebook, Superintendent Matthew L. Widenhoefer said the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County had begun its own internal investigation.

“The school district is aware that an MSDSC staff member has been booked into the Steuben County Jail,” Widenhoefer wrote. “The district has initiated an internal investigation, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with district policy and applicable law.”