An elementary school special education instructor has sued the Peoria Unified School District, alleging sex discrimination.
River Chunnui filed the lawsuit in federal judge on March 8.
Chunnui, who is transgender and identifies as nonbinary, has worked for Peoria Unified since 2018 and teaches specific training at Desert Harbor Elementary School, according to the problem. According to the city, board part Heather Rooks, and former board member Rebecca Hill, they were subjected to negative career decisions due to their gender identity, according to Chaunnui’s complaint.
In an email to Desert Harbor team in March 2022, Chunnui noted that it was International Transgender Day of Visibility. Our President is scheduled to make some presentations now to defend the rights of Trans kids, and many of our students have taken a strong interest in these congressional activities, Chunnui wrote.
A straightforward response to the email’s instructions,” I see you” or” I support you,” may go a long way, Chunnui wrote.
The message was covered by a traditional local news outlet. A picture of Chunnui holding up a children’s picture guide called” Pink Is for Kids” was also included in the account.
The area placed Chunnui on administrative leave in early April pending a probe into” two alleged disrespectful conduct,” but the problem did not offer additional information on the basis of the research. The issue asserts, based on scheduling, that the emails and readings of” Pink Is for Males” to students were the two alleged instances of unethical conduct.
At that time, Rooks, who was not yet on the table, and Hill “embarked on a stain strategy” against Chunnui, according to the problem, officially referring to them as a kid “groomer” and accusing them of sexualizing kids. In recent years, far-right extremists have been using suicide and “grooming” younger people as frequent political attacks against LGBTQ+ people.
Chunnui was informed that they were no longer under research and may work again in July. The city did n’t problem “written studies or a solution of the complaints under investigation”, according to the complaint, and told Chunnui to refrain from using the district’s computer and email for “personal factors”.
Their home was vandalized during the investigation and after Chunnui returned to work, and they received “repeated harassing phone calls, emails, and social media messages accusing them of pedophilia and grooming children,” according to the complaint. The “relentless attacks” against Chunnui for their gender identity caused severe emotional distress, and Chunnui attempted suicide in August, according to the complaint.
Rooks and Hill and Rooks voted to remove Chunnui’s name, along with one other staff member, from the contract renewal list in March 2023, the board was scheduled to renew employment contracts for the following school year. At that meeting, the district’s chief personnel officer, Laura Vesely, said it was not the appropriate time to do that and recommended the board get legal guidance. The board failed to approve the amended list and ultimately voted 3- 2 to renew all the contracts, including Chunnui’s.
During the fall of 2023, Chunnui’s vehicle was vandalized in the school parking lot several times, including by damaging the back of the car, slashing the tires and ripping off pro- LGBTQ+ stickers, according to the complaint.
Chunnui reported harassment from coworkers and damage to their vehicle to human resources, but the district has since “has failed to respond and remedy the harassment,” according to the complaint.
The district is alleged to have broken the Civil Rights Act of 1967, which made it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person based on sex. A 2020 U. S. Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, found that discriminating based on sex includes discriminating against an individual for being gay or transgender.
It also alleges the district, Hill and Rooks violated Chunnui’s free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
Developing: Peoria teacher sues district after being harassed for supporting transgender students
” As a result of these violations, Plaintiff has suffered humiliation, distress, loss of enjoyment of life, reputational harm, and inconvenience”, the complaint says.
Danielle Airey, a spokesperson for the Peoria Unified School District, said in an email that the district has yet to officially be served, but once it receives the documents, it will “work with legal counsel to respond accordingly”. Roots did not respond to a comment request. Hill, who left the board in August to move away from home to be closer to her family, was unavailable for comment.
Reporter Sasha Hupka contributed.
Reach the reporter at [email protected].
