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Heather Rooks |
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Updated 06/25/2026 |
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Rabidly
homophobic
MAGA
extremist
Heather
Rooks is an
at-large
member of
the Peoria
Unified
School
District in
Arizona. She
assumed
office on
January 1,
2023. Her
current term
ends on
January 1,
2027. Rooks
is running
for election
to the
Arizona
House of
Representatives
to represent
District 28.
She is on
the ballot
in the
Republican
primary on
July 21,
2026. |
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--
SUMMATION
-- |
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Heather
Rooks
has actively
initialized,
sponsored,
and
supported
multiple
policies and
actions that
specifically
target and
negatively
affect
members of
the LGBTQIA+
community. |
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Her public
record as a
Peoria
Unified
School
District (PUSD)
governing
board member
and
conservative
activist is
largely
defined by
these
efforts:
(ref 1)
(ref 2)
(ref 3) |
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1.
Transgender
Restroom and
Locker Room
Bans |
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Rooks has
repeatedly
spearheaded
legislative
pushes to
restrict the
rights of
transgender
students in
public
schools:
(ref 1) |
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Initial
2023
Proposal:
In April
2023,
Rooks
led a
highly
public
campaign
to force
a board
vote to
draft a
policy
banning
transgender
and
nonbinary
students
from
accessing
bathrooms
and
locker
rooms
that
align
with
their
gender
identity.
This
initial
attempt
failed
in a
tight
3-2
vote.
(ref 1)
(ref 2)
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Successful
2025
"Women's
Privacy"
Policy:
Rooks
continued
her
push,
culminating
in the
successful
passage
of a
strict
"Women's
Privacy
Policy"
in March
2025.
This
policy
legally
forces
multi-occupancy
restrooms,
changing
rooms,
and
overnight
field
trip
cabins
to be
separated
strictly
by
biological
sex at
birth,
effectively
banning
transgender
students
from
facilities
matching
their
gender
identity.
(ref 1)
(ref
2)
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2. Legal
Action
Involving a
Nonbinary
Educator |
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Rooks was
the primary
subject of a
high-profile
federal
civil rights
lawsuit
filed by a
nonbinary
PUSD
teacher:
(ref) |
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Attempted
Employment
Block:
In March
2023,
Rooks
and a
colleague
attempted
to singe
out and
block
the
routine
employment
contract
renewal
of the
nonbinary
teacher,
despite
warnings
from the
school
district's
legal
counsel
that
doing so
constituted
illegal
discrimination
based on
gender
identity.
(ref)
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Targeting
Campaign
and
Settlement:
The
lawsuit
detailed
a
targeted
smear
campaign
where
Rooks
used
social
media
and
public
comments
to
criticize
the
teacher's
use of
preferred
pronouns,
amplify
rhetoric
suggesting
LGBTQIA+
teachers
were
"grooming"
children,
and
publicly
disclose
the
educator's
home
address.
The
teacher's
home and
vehicle
were
subsequently
vandalized,
and the
school
district
eventually
finalized
an
undisclosed
financial
settlement
in July
2025 to
resolve
the
civil
rights
case.
(ref)
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3. Active
Opposition
to Pronoun
Use and
Title IX |
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Rooks has
repeatedly
used her
political
platform to
campaign
against
policies
recognizing
chosen
pronouns and
gender
identity
protections:
(ref 1)
(ref 2) |
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State
Legislative
Testimony:
In
January
2023, as
a
member-elect,
she
testified
before
the
Arizona
Legislature
in
support
of a
Republican
bill
restricting
preferred
pronoun
usage in
schools,
publicly
claiming
that
asking
for
preferred
pronouns
was an
attempt
to
"sexualize"
children.
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Title
IX
Defiance:
In July
2024,
during a
PUSD
board
study
session
regarding
federal
Title IX
revisions
meant to
protect
LGBTQIA+
students
from
discrimination,
Rooks
publicly
demanded
that the
school
district
sue the
federal
government,
stating
she
would
not
allow
anyone
to
"force"
students
to
respect
a
preferred
pronoun.
(ref)
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4. "No
Grooming"
Policy and
Public
Rhetoric |
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Rooks
authored a
sweeping
"No Grooming
and Child
Protection"
policy
within PUSD.
While framed
under child
safety,
LGBTQIA+
advocacy
groups and
teachers'
unions
highlighted
that her
public
defense of
the policy
explicitly
relied on
rhetoric
that
conflated
LGBTQIA+
identities
with sexual
misconduct.
During a
September
2025
appearance
on a
far-right
podcast that
openly
labeled
same-sex
marriage "an
abomination,"
Rooks
doubled down
on her
platform,
explicitly
warning
parents that
LGBTQIA+
individuals
should only
be tolerated
in education
if they
"keep your
bedroom out
of the
classroom."
(ref) |
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Peoria School
Board
President Ousted
Over Scandal
Comments |
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"In a 3-2 vote,
Heather Rooks
was removed from her
position as
president. She was
replaced as
president by Jeff
Tobey, also in a 3-2
vote. “I want to be
very clear that the
response in calling
for this meeting was
due to an ongoing
pattern of behavior,
but also a very
large request from
the community,”
Board Clerk Becky
Proudfit said before
voting to remove
Rooks as president.
“I don’t think I’ve
received more emails
than I have about
this issue in
anything since I
have been on the
board.”" |
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May 5, 2026 |
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School Board Prez
Goes On Podcast That
Called Same-Sex
Marriage An
‘Abomination’ |
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"Peoria Unified
School District
Governing Board
President Heather
Rooks appeared
this month on a
far-right podcast
that called same-sex
marriage “an
abomination against
God.” During the
interview, which
aired on Sept. 9,
Rooks repeated
unfounded claims
that “groomers” and
pedophiles are
working across
Arizona’s public
schools." [ . . .
]"The podcast, The
Myth of Education,
is hosted by Tiffany
Benson, a fringe
conservative
provocateur who has
gained attention in
Arizona’s far-right
circles known for
showing up at school
boards to speak out
against equity
programs, LGBTQ+
people, and writing
opinion pieces
online claiming that
America was founded
as a Christian
nation. She also
advocates for
Judeo-Christian
teaching in
schools." |
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Sep. 10, 2025 |
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Nonbinary
Arizona
Teacher Doxxed And
Accused Of Grooming
By Board Members
Settles Lawsuit |
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"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." |
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Jul. 14, 2025 |
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An Arizona School
Board Member On A
Religious Crusade
Has Cost Her
District Over
$218,000 |
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"A school board
member who has been
using her seat to
advance her personal
religious views has
cost the district
over $218,000—money
that will not be
spent improving
education for
students in the
community. Despite
multiple warnings
that her personal
crusade could be
costly, the board
member continued
treating school
board meetings as a
church service. Now
everyone is paying
the price. All of
this started a few
years ago in
Arizona’s Peoria
Unified School
District. Heather
Rooks sued the
district for telling
her to stop quoting
the Bible at
meetings." |
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Apr. 28, 2025 |
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Peoria Unified Seeks
Policy Changes On
Women’s Privacy,
Nondiscrimination |
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"Peoria Unified
Governing Board
President Heather
Rooks wants to
introduce a new
district policy
about women’s
privacy, in part
regarding bathrooms,
as well as remove
significant language
from the district’s
nondiscrimination
policy." [ . . . ]
"She seeks to create
a policy regarding
women’s privacy,
particularly “access
to restrooms, locker
rooms and showers in
district facilities,
sleeping
accommodations on
overnight trips and
reasonable
accommodations.”" |
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Feb. 26, 2025 |
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How
An
Anti-LGBTQ+ Org
Teaches Parents To
Overwhelm School
Admin |
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"Last week, parents
and community
members gathered in
a private web group
to discuss something
that wasn’t
happening: Peoria
Unified School
District’s
counselors were
“transing”
children." [ . . . ]
"On the call was
Heather Rooks,
who has consistently
used her position on
the Governing School
Board in Peoria to
make bogus claims
about trans
children, and is now
being sued by a
nonbinary teacher
who was targeted by
Rooks. The group
that organized the
web meetup, Arizona
Women of Action, is
a far-right
organization that
advocates for state
legislation
targeting trans
children, LGBTQ+
content, and is
represented by
America First Legal,
founded by former
Donald Trumps
advisor Stephen
Miller." |
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Sep. 18, 2024 |
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Peoria School Board
Member Sues District
After Being Told Not
To Recite Bible |
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"Member Heather
Rooks claims
Peoria Unified
School District
violated her First
Amendment right by
banning her from
reciting the Bible
during school board
meetings." |
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Sep. 27, 2023 |
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A
Teacher’s Road To
Acceptance, And
Fighting Back
Against Hate |
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"“Let me be clear,”
Chunnui said. “The
past year has been
nothing short of two
members of this very
board lobbying
against a subgroup
of individuals and
children simply
because of who they
are. This is the
very definition of
discrimination. And
this discrimination,
prejudice,
transphobia and
hatred for other–”
“Point of order,”
Hill interrupted.
“Point of order.
You’re not allowed
to call me
transphobic. That’s
a slur.” Rooks
came to Hill’s
defense,
“Yes, if you could
just please refrain
from comments made
against those–”" |
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Oct. 11, 2023 |
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Peoria
Unified
Teacher
Files Notice
Of Claim
Against
District,
Board
Members |
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"The claim,
initially
reported by
KJZZ,
alleges
Desert
Harbor
Elementary
School
special
education
teacher
River
Chunnui was
singled out
by governing
board
members
Heather
Rooks
and Rebecca
Hill, who
the claim
alleges
attempted to
terminate
their
employment
on the basis
of 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." |
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Aug. 11,
2023 |
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Peoria
Schools To
Consider
Drafting
Policy On
Transgender
Students'
Bathroom
Access |
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"Following
weeks of
contentious
meetings,
Peoria
Unified
School
District’s
governing
board is set
to consider
Thursday
night
whether to
direct
district
administrators
to draft a
policy
restricting
transgender
students’
access to
bathrooms
and locker
rooms. The
policy draft
would then
come before
the
governing
board for
review.
Heather
Rooks,
who joined
the board in
January, has
spearheaded
the push to
prevent
transgender
students
from
accessing
bathrooms
and locker
rooms that
align with
their gender
identity." |
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Apr. 27,
2023 |
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