On April 21, Gov. Kay Ivey forced a top state official to resign. Ivey said Barbara Cooper’s Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education was distributing teacher training materials that included so-called “woke concepts.”

Cooper became the secretary of the department in 2020 after leading the state’s nationally acclaimed First Class Pre-K program.

Ivey complained about the fourth edition of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book.

The book is not used in classrooms and is not a curriculum. It is supposed to help preschool teachers provide high-quality care to children and understand how different children learn and grow.

“Developmentally appropriate practice,” according to NAEYC, are educational methods that build on a child’s individual strengths and are culturally, linguistically and ability appropriate. In recent years, the organization has increased its focus on equity and inclusion and talked about how different cultures and families view play, individuality and social contexts.

In a statement, Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said the governor was concerned that the book tells teachers there are “larger systemic forces that perpetuate systems of White privilege” and that “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism.” She was concerned, too, Maiola said, with the directions that “LGBTQIA+ need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity and worth.”

NAEYC is a national accrediting board that works to provide high-quality early learning materials for children up to age eight.

Cooper was elected to the association’s national governing board in 2022 and her term ends in 2026.

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In a 2021 video published on a YouTube channel, apparently operated by a state department, Cooper asked for support for her position on the governing board.

“My life’s work aligns with NAEYC’s vision,” she said. “This is an awesome time to lead. The pandemic has taught us that America cannot operate or work without childcare, and it is well documented that children thrive in high-quality, equitable learning environments.”

NAEYC told AL.com on Friday that the teacher training resource has been in use across the country for nearly 40 years.

“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 book is available at the University of Alabama Gorgas Library, Amazon and other e-publishers.