By admin 
YUMA, AZ (AZFamily) — A former Somerton High School cheerleading coach and teacher unanimously fired by school board officials last year has officially regained her Arizona teaching credentials following a state settlement.
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Alyssa Plaza, who was terminated by the Yuma Union High School District in April 2025, reached an agreement with the Arizona State Board of Education. State documents indicate that investigators found the district’s original allegations against Plaza to be “incomplete and inaccurate.”
Plaza was fired after allowing Alejandro Perez-Parra, a male cheerleader on her squad, to use her office inside the girls’ locker room to change. Plaza maintained that her actions were a desperate attempt to protect Perez-Parra from severe, ongoing bullying regarding his sexual orientation, which had escalated to suicidal ideation.
“It was a lot that I had to present to them,” Plaza said. “But at the end of the day, I got my credentials. I am allowed to teach again. I am allowed to get back into a classroom, which is what I worked hard to get to.”
According to the state settlement, Plaza’s discipline did not stem from the locker room incident itself. Instead, she was issued a “letter of censure,” which requires her to complete an online professional standards course, solely because she messaged her team after being instructed by administrators to have no contact with students during the investigation.
At the time of her firing, Plaza said she was denied due process by local administrators.
“I didn’t even get a verbal warning,” Plaza said. “I didn’t even get a written warning. I didn’t get a suspension.”
State board members ultimately praised Plaza’s motivations to shield her student.
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“They commended me for what I did, for protecting a student,” Plaza said. “When teachers go into their profession, as soon as that student steps foot on the campus, they automatically become your responsibility.”
Perez-Parra had reportedly endured bullying at the high school for three years before Plaza intervened. He had previously filed multiple incident reports with school administrators to no avail. Plaza said she remains in close communication with Perez-Parra and her former squad members.
“Kids, when they reach out, and they ask for help, you help them because they are your responsibility as soon as they set foot on that campus,” Plaza said.
Since her termination, Plaza has remained active in the Yuma athletics community, founding and running her own local cheerleading program. With her license fully restored, she plans to return to the public classroom.
The Yuma Union High School District has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the state’s findings or the settlement.
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