A Peoria Unified teacher has sent a notice of claim to the district and two governing board members alleging violation of federal and state discrimination laws regarding their gender identity.
The letter, dated July 13, 2023 from attorney Katilyn Redfield-Ortiz at the Phoenix law firm Lubin & Enoch PC, cites Supreme Court Case Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., Ga., that prohibits employers from terminating or threatening to terminate an employee simply because they dislike the employee’s gender identity.
Chunnui is seeking damages in the amount of $50,000 from Peoria Unified and $1,000 each from Rooks and Hill.
The parties have until Oct. 12 to respond or further legal action could be taken.
Peoria Unified, Rooks and Hill did not respond to questions regarding this claim. The district did confirm they have received a copy of the claim.
“Ms. Rooks’ and Ms. Hill’s actions violate several additional state and federal laws, including the constitutions of both the United States and the state of Arizona, and expose the district — as well as Ms. Rooks and Ms. Hill, in their personal and individual capacities — to significant civil liability,” according to the claim.
Heather Rooks
At the March 9 PUSD governing board meeting, Rooks and Hill nearly scuttled the issuance of contracts to about 4,000 employees that would have included salary and benefits for the 2023-24 school year and led to the unemployment of those employees by mid-summer, all in an effort to remove two teachers, including Chunnui.
The contracts eventually were issued by a 3-2 vote during the meeting, with Rooks and Hill dissenting.
Rebecca Hill
While Chunnui was named at that board meeting, neither Rooks nor Hill gave evidence or rational for their conclusions.
Their accusations were based only on prejudice, the claim states.
“Ms. Rooks’ and Ms. Hill’s comments are rooted in harmful stereotypes that transgender people are sexual predators, unsafe to be around children. They are not. They are simply people, trying to live their lives in peace, just like the rest of us,” the claim continues. “Importantly, at this point, the district already knew that Mx. Chunnui was being targeted — violently — by members of the community for their transgender status. Drawing further attention to Mx. Chunnui by perpetuating falsehoods about their character and improperly attempting to non-renew their contract simply emboldens those who would do Mx. Chunnui and their children harm. For these reasons, Ms. Rooks’ and Ms. Hill’s conduct was outrageous and constitutes a false light invasion of Mx. Chunnui’s privacy.”
The letter states Rooks’ and Hill’s attempt to single out and not renew Chunnui’s employment contract on the basis of their gender identity is “humiliating,” runs “afoul of Arizona statutes and the district’s own governing board policy,” and violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the Arizona Civil Rights Act.
The claim states discrimination and violence against Chunnui followed when they celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, on which Chunnui wrote an email to fellow Desert Harbor staff members, sharing how they might support students who want to celebrate the day.
Not long after the email was sent, it was posted on social media, and according to the claim, the district immediately placed Chunnui on administrative leave, “abruptly depriving her students of their teacher during the final months of the year.”
Heated chatter over the email erupted into comments at public school board meetings and in certain circles of social media, most notably on the Facebook page, West Valley Parents Uniting Against Critical Race Theory, where Rooks publicly shamed Chunnui, according to the claim.
The claim said that on April 7, 2022 Rooks and her organization’s members participated in a prayer vigil in response to Chunnui’s email, during which Rooks and others called for Chunnui’s termination.
“That same night, someone threw a rock through their window, into the home where Mx. Chunnui’s children — who are PUSD students — slept,” according to the claim.
The claim said the violence continued, with Chunnui receiving repeated harassing phone calls, emails, and social media messages accusing them of pedophilia and grooming children for sexual conduct, including another rock that was thrown through their window after the conclusion of the investigation when she returned to school.
Additionally, the claim asserts the district did not respond to these violent threats and harassment.
“The district gave no substantive response and did not offer any reassurance that it would take steps to ensure Mx. Chunnui’s safety. ... Additionally, Mx. Chunnui endured the professional humiliation and uncertainty that came with the district’s protracted investigation. Unsurprisingly, this has taken an extreme toll on their mental health,” the claim states.
For a few years now, people with conservative beliefs have been flooding the public comment section of PUSD school board meetings with varying degrees of force. But since the board voted against creating new policy directed at transgender students in bathrooms and locker rooms, April 27, the heat has intensified with extreme rhetoric.
Rooks and Hill have led this charge, often calling on their constituents to attend board meetings and voice their opposition against transgender students in bathrooms and locker rooms.
Chunnui is not the only PUSD teacher who has claimed malfeasance against Rooks or Hill — the district’s teachers’ union has called for their resignation.
Additionally, in May, Freedom From Religion Foundation asked board members to stop reciting scripture at public meetings. Only recently has Rooks agreed to do so.
Along with Chunnui, PUSD teacher Holly Webb also was singled out by Rooks and Hill at the March 9 governing board meeting, nearly being terminated for the 2023-24 school year. Also at the meeting, PUSD parent Wendy Van Wie publicly accused Webb of improper teachings during a human physiology class she taught at Liberty High School late last year.
A few days after the March 9 meeting, Rooks took to Twitter with a video replaying parts of Van Wie’s acrimonious speech, which reached thousands of people.
Webb spoke with Peoria Independent and said the accusations were false.
She was also investigated by the district, transferred to a different school and is no longer teaching physiology. The district considers this a disciplinary action but would not go into deeper details.
At the time, Webb told Peoria Independent that posting slanderous lies on social media to further along a political agenda is not in the best interest of the students, teachers, or education as a whole.
“Slander and defamation should not be entertained and educators should be protected by the truth once due process has taken place,” Webb said at the time.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
Peoria Unified School District,
federal law,
state law,
discrimination,
gender identity,
KJZZ,
Desert Harbor Elementary School,
special education,
teachers,
Heather Rooks,
Rebecca Hill,
transgender
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