Nonbinary Arizona teacher doxxed and accused of grooming by board members settles lawsuit

A nonbinary special education teacher in Arizona has settled a lawsuit against their school district after two board members reportedly accused them of "grooming" children and released their address on social media.

River Chunnui reached an undisclosed settlement with the Peoria Unified School District over a year after filing a gender discrimination suit in response to targeted harassment from governing board president Heather Rooks and former governing board member Rebecca Hill. The two attempted to terminate Chunnui's employment, according to the lawsuit via The Arizona Republic, and led a public "smear campaign" that resulted in multiple attacks on the teacher's vehicle and home.

Chunnui was placed on administrative leave in 2022 after sending an email to faculty on March 31 recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility, which was shared publicly. Chunnui mentioned that they had seen students wearing the transgender flag colors, and noted that a good way for staff to show support would be to tell them "I see you." An investigation determined the teacher had done nothing wrong.

Despite the investigation's conclusions, Rooks and Hill voted to terminate Chunnui's contract during a 2023 board meeting. Their motion failed when the three other board members voted against it, but the two didn't stop there. Chunnui's lawsuit claims that Rooks told news media that the teacher "grooms children's sexuality," and led public prayer vigils for them. Rooks also requested prayers for Chunnui on social media, the suit asserts, and eventually posted their address.

Chunnui said that they were targeted several times throughout the following year, including on occasion during the fall 2023 semester where someone slashed their car's tires and removed the LGBTQ+ stickers on it while it was parked at Desert Harbor Elementary. Chunnui's home was also vandalized in a separate incident.

“I was a special education teacher in this district — until I was targeted, harassed, and silenced for being openly transgender and for supporting our students' right to feel seen,” Chunnui said, via Phoenix New Times. “I was publicly attacked by board members of this district, and while that rhetoric caused deep harm, what cut just as deeply was the district’s silence. Not once did district leadership speak up to correct the record, to offer support or to affirm that teachers like me belong in the classroom.”

Chunnui terminated their employment with the district at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. While they are not allowed to disclose the amount the district settled for, they said some of the proceeds will go towards their new nonprofit organization, Family Prism Project, which will assist LGBTQ+ and multicultural families in the West Valley school system.