April 22 (UPI) — A top Alabama education official has resigned after Gov. Kay Ivey accused her of distributing teacher training textbooks containing “woke concepts.”
Barbara Cooper, secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, has resigned from her post, Ivey’s press secretary announced in a statement released to media outlets.
Spokeswoman Gina Maiola said the administration objected to material contained in the National Association for the Education of Young Children Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book 4th Edition, which allegedly features “content that is simply not in line with what the Ivey Administration or the people of Alabama stand for or believe.”
Declaring that “woke concepts have no place at any level of education in the state of Alabama,” she said Ivey was concerned the text teaches about “larger systemic forces that perpetuate systems of White privilege.”
Maiola also alleged the training manual asserts “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism” and that Ivey objected to content advocating that “LGBTQIA+ need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity and worth.”
The National Association for the Education of Young Children defended the teaching manual, pointing out that the text in question is not part of the educational curriculum but rather serves as a resource for teachers.
“While not a curriculum, it is a responsive, educator-developed, educator-informed, and research-based resource that has been honed over multiple generations to support teachers in helping all children thrive and reach their full potential,” the NAEYC said in a statement to AL.com.
Ivey ordered Cooper to cease using the text and to send a memo denouncing it — then accepted her resignation, the governor said.
“I thank Dr. Cooper for her service, but I believe it is best we continue this historically strong program on its forward trajectory under new leadership,” Ivey said in a statement issued to WTVY-TV.