River Chunnui is a trans and nonbinary special education teacher at Desert Harbor Elementary School. They have worked in the Peoria Unified School District since 2018, according to their lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court on March 8. Chunnui is suing the district as well as two members of its governing board who the lawsuit alleged played key roles in mounting a public campaign against Chunnui.
Heather Rooks is still on the district’s board, while Rebecca Hill left office in August 2023 after telling parents to unenroll their students from the district because of its bathroom policies. “God is not blessing this district,” Hill reportedly said.
According to Chunnui's lawsuit, Hill and Rooks began a public campaign against Chunnui, referred to them as a child “groomer” and accused them of “sexualizing children.” Rooks even disclosed Chunnui's home address, and afterward, someone tossed a rock at the teacher's window.
The district did nothing to stop the attacks, which included violent threats against Chunnui, the lawsuit alleged.
Chunnui accused the district of violating a host of federal laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1967, for disparate treatment because of sex and creating a hostile work environment, and the First Amendment, for discriminating against certain viewpoints.
In addition, Chunnui is bringing four charges against the district, Hill and Rooks. The teacher alleged that the district and two board members engaged in unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment, violation of free speech protected by the Arizona Constitution, false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The school district, in a statement provided to Phoenix New Times on Thursday, said it was served with the lawsuit last week. Beyond that, the district declined to comment.
Rooks did not respond to New Times' request for a comment, and Hill could not be reached.
Rebecca Hill (left) and Heather Rooks, along with the Peoria Unified School District, are being sued by a teacher who alleged they were targeted for being transgender and nonbinary.
Courtesy Arizona's Family and Peoria Unified School District
‘I was very scared and very confused’
Chunnui sent the email to fellow Desert Harbor employees on March 31, 2022, which is International Transgender Day of Visibility. They encouraged other staff to support students who were wearing the colors of the trans flag."Hello Fabulous Staff, I just wanted to let you know that you may see our students wearing more pink, teal and white today," Chunnui wrote. "Today is a quickly growing annual event called 'International Transgender Day of Visibility.'"
The email continued, "How can you help? If you notice a student purposefully wearing the colors of the trans flag, a simple 'I see you' or 'I support you' can go a long way."
Soon afterward, the email was leaked to media and the public and published in a story by right-wing website Arizona Daily Independent on April 7, according to the lawsuit.
Desert Harbor responded in a statement and an email to all parents, noting Chunnui’s email was only sent to staff and not students, according to the lawsuit.
On April 8, the district’s human resources officer, Laura Vesely, ordered Chunnui not to return to work until Vesely told them to do so, the lawsuit claimed. Three days later, Vesely informed Chunnui they were being placed on paid administrative leave because the district was conducting an investigation.
Chunnui claimed the district failed to tell them what they were accused of and what the basis of the investigation was other than “two instances of unprofessional conduct,” which are not specified in the lawsuit.
“I didn’t understand what policies I had allegedly broken,” Chunnui told New Times in an interview. “I was mostly concerned with keeping my job at that time. I was kind of in a fear-based state. I was very scared and very confused.”
At the same time, Hill — then a board member — and Rooks — who was campaigning for the position — began to attack Chunnui publicly, the lawsuit alleged.
On April 7, Rooks tweeted a picture of Chunnui's staff email and added, “Stop sexualizing OUR children!” On the same day, Rooks allegedly held a "prayer vigil" to pray against Chunnui and urged attendees to come to the next board meeting on April 14 to publicly disparage the teacher, the lawsuit claimed.
On the day of the board meeting, the lawsuit said, the general counsel for the Arizona Education Association, Jarrett Haskovec, informed the Peoria school district’s attorney that Chunnui had endured violent threats and harassment after the district started its investigation.
The lawsuit claimed that earlier in the day, before the board meeting, Rooks and Hill publicly derided Chunnui. Rooks even disclosed Chunnui’s home address, and shortly afterward, at 1:50 p.m., a rock was thrown at Chunnui’s residence, causing damage to a window. At the meeting, several people made disparaging remarks about Chunnui.
Rooks continued to use social media as a means to conduct a public campaign against Chunnui and Peoria Unified, saying on April 29 that the district “allows teachers now to have young children call them by their preferred pronouns,” the lawsuit alleged.
Chunnui was told they were no longer under investigation on June 21, 2022, after Chunnui had missed the end of the school term, which they called their “favorite part of the year” in the interview with New Times. “For me, my work is my joy,” Chunnui said. The leave of absence "definitely put me in a state of depression,” they added.
The lawsuit stated that “the District never issued written findings or a resolution of the allegations under investigation.” The district did, however, order Chunnui to refrain from using the district’s computer for personal use, which Chunnui and their lawyer allege is not a requirement for other teachers.
On July 27, Chunnui’s home was vandalized again when someone threw a rock at their window. Both rock-throwing incidents were reported to police. Over the course of several months, the lawsuit claimed, Chunnui received “harassing phone calls, emails and social media messages accusing them of pedophilia and grooming children for sexual conduct — the same words used by the board members.”
Rooks and Hill continued their crusade. They attempted to terminate Chunnui’s employment with the district on March 9, 2023, almost a year after the initial email, according to the lawsuit. In a meeting that day, the board was set to renew teachers’ contracts. Rooks’ nonprofit organization, West Valley Parents United, tweeted a picture of Chunnui’s name on the list of contract renewals and criticized the district’s superintendent for allowing it to reach a vote.
During the March 9 board meeting, Hill accused Chunnui of not fulfilling their duties, not keeping students safe, being a danger to students and not following policies, according to the lawsuit. Then, she motioned to remove Chunnui’s name from the contract renewal list.
The motion to remove Chunnui from the list failed in a 3-2 vote. The lawsuit also says the district’s legal counsel informed Rooks and Hill that it is unlawful to discriminate or retaliate against someone because of their gender or gender identity.
In April 2023, Rooks and Hill also campaigned — against the advice of the school district's attorney — to pass a policy restricting which restrooms and locker rooms trans students can use. The board rejected it in a 3-2 vote, according to the Arizona Republic.
Supporters of River Chunnui, a transgender and nonbinary educator in Peoria, rallied for the teacher on Aug. 8 after their car was vandalized in the parking lot of Desert Harbor Elementary School.
Barton Mendez Soto
Finding their voice
Chunnui told New Times that Rooks and Hill never reached out to them, but Chunnui wishes the two could understand their work. “I would love to have those individuals in my classroom and to feel how welcoming and safe an environment my classroom is,” Chunnui said.They became interested in special education because of their uncle, Chunnui told New Times.
“My uncle was only seven years older than me, but he grew up in a time where special education students were really put into a room, and they were not really supported or advocated for," Chunnui said. "Unfortunately for him, he kind of handled it as he got older in very unhealthy ways.
“I just always wanted to support him and love him. I grew up wishing I could be that person for him, so I became a special education teacher because I wanted to advocate for kids who were like my uncle,” they added.
Chunnui also noted that Tucson Unified School District is the only district in Arizona that has a policy regarding transgender students or staff, reflecting a lack of attention given to the struggles of transgender people across the state. Through their experience with Rooks, Hill and the lawsuit, Chunnui said they found their voice in advocating for transgender people.
“My hope is that by bringing awareness to this issue — and the true prejudice and discrimination that is occurring for the transgender community — that more people will also find their voice,” Chunnui said.
The lawsuit accuses the district of not taking any steps to stop the attacks on Chunnui. The teacher, who has returned to the classroom, alleged they have been harassed at school by coworkers, and that the tires of their car were slashed.
Chunnui also noted that teachers are scared to speak out for fear they could lose their licenses or face more discrimination in the workplace.
“The truth is that my situation is not unique," Chunnui said. "This is happening all the time, particularly with educators.”
