Reagan Hookom is a high school junior. She lives in Gilbert and has classes this year on two campuses about a 30-minute drive apart.
The East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa offers Hookom a head start on becoming a physical therapist.
Her own recovery from major shoulder surgery made her want to help kids going through similar struggles. She has not chosen a university.
“I don’t know yet. Hopefully, either Florida or Michigan because those are the top two PT schools," Hookom said.
Perry High School is part of the Chandler Unified School District, and it’s where Hookom will spend mornings.
Last year, she made friends there who are now seniors.
A new school year means a chance to meet people in her own class.
“I just hope that they want to know about me and not the rumors and stuff that went around,” she said.
Sexual misconduct allegations against a teacher
The whispers started back in seventh grade after Hookom and other girls at Casteel High School reported sexual misconduct allegations against their drama teacher. A years-long fight with Chandler schools ensued.
In March, Hookom and her parents sued the district, alleging that employees conspired to not tell police about the sexual misconduct allegations.
Arizona requires teachers to tell law enforcement if they think a child is being abused. The practice is called mandatory reporting and a group of southeast Valley parents has been calling attention to it at state school board meetings in recent months.
“Under Arizona law, school personnel must report to law enforcement immediately, either electronically or by telephone, if they believe that a minor is the victim of abuse," said Larry Wulkan, an attorney who does not represent the Hookom family.
Wulkan does have experience with cases involving mandatory reporting. He said a failure to meet the requirement can draw a criminal charge that can be a high misdemeanor or low felony.
“I’m unfamiliar with any prosecutions that have been made as a result of a teacher failing to report,” Wulkan said.
As a new academic year starts, some are urging Chandler schools to hire student advocates to work with administrators and campus-based police officers.
Chandler schools declined an interview request. The district also did not comment on the Hookom lawsuit. A spokesperson said all staff do yearly training that exceeds legal requirements for mandatory reporting.
At a school board meeting weeks after the Hookom case was filed, Chandler school board member Kurt Rohrs said some parents had been complaining about principals and staff deciding which incidents to tell police about.
“What I’m getting to is there is no policy that I can find that says this is the priority. (If) there is a suspected crime you talk to law enforcement first before starting your investigation. And then they decide if they want to continue or not and turn it back to you,” Rohrs said.
His comments came during a review of district policy on retaliation, bullying and social media.
“Just as an aside, in this district, we’ve gotten in some very serious trouble when we’ve tried to handle an incident on campus that turned out to be a serious crime, and then law enforcement stepped in,” Rohrs said.
'They did not report'
About seven years ago, three leaders at Hamilton High School were criminally investigated in a so-called hazing scandal.
Chandler police recommended they be prosecuted for failing to report sexual assault allegations involving football players.
At a news conference months later, then-Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said there would be no further charges than the ones brought against three players.
“Due the lack of cooperation of players with firsthand information needed to corroborate allegations detailed through the Chandler Police Department investigation, we are unable to file charges, beyond the three cases we’ve prosecuted so far,” said Montgomery, who is now an Arizona Supreme Court justice.
Two of the Hamilton High staff members who were criminally investigated were reassigned and now work at district headquarters.
Reagan Hookom’s parents have wanted law enforcement involved from the start. Father Darin Hookom recently told the state school board about what happened after his daughter and other girls reported their drama teacher to an assistant principal.
“The school then documented the sexual exploitation of multiple minors occurring over a period of months, and they did not report,” he said.
Darin Hookom is one of the parents who’s been calling attention to mandatory reporting. He wants schools to create a position to advocate for students believed to be abused.
“But because we are not the first victims of their egregious activity or even an isolated incident, we ask that you work with community leaders to create a parental bill of rights,” he said.
Chandler schools have detailed policy requiring employees to immediately report child abuse, and a procedure for doing so.
The district spokesperson says a teen violence advisory committee has met twice and mandatory reporting has been a discussion topic.
