New details have emerged around the abrupt departure of Barbara Cooper, Alabama’s early childhood director ousted by Gov. Kay Ivey in April over a preschool training manual that discussed inclusive teaching practices.

In an announcement in April, Ivey abruptly announced a “change in leadership” in Cooper’s nationally-recognized department, citing a manual, which she called “woke” and “concerning,” from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, or NAEYC.

Emails obtained by AL.com and the Alabama Reflector, however, show that Cooper had promptly complied with a request to pull the manual a week prior to her resignation, a detail that was not made clear in the governor’s announcement of her departure.

Records also confirm earlier reporting that the concerns were spurred by a Republican lawmaker, Rep. Jamie Kiel, who distributed a document highlighting passages from the book, without context, that he created after receiving a complaint from an educator.

AL.com requested the records on April 21 and received them in August. The records cover emails to and from the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and Ivey’s office from April 1, 2023 to mid-May.

Read more: Alabama cuts more pre-K equity resources after removing NAEYC manual, firing Barbara Cooper

In an original notice of Cooper’s departure, issued Friday, April 21, Ivey said she was made aware of “concerning content” in a pre-K educator resource book. The book was the fourth edition of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, a training manual for early childhood educators.

NAEYC is a leading national preschool group that accredits hundreds of high-quality early childcare facilities. Cooper also was a member of the group’s governing board at the time of her departure.

In her announcement, Ivey said she directed Cooper to send a memo disavowing the book and discontinuing its use after conducting a review of its contents.

But Ivey did not make clear that Cooper had complied with the request.

Instead, the governor immediately accepted Cooper’s letter of resignation, which was submitted earlier that day.

“The education of Alabama’s children is my top priority as governor, and there is absolutely no room to distract or take away from this mission,” the governor wrote. “Let me be crystal clear: Woke concepts that have zero to do with a proper education and that are divisive at the core have no place in Alabama classrooms at any age level, let alone with our youngest learners. We want our children to be focused on the fundamentals, such as reading and math.”

The governor’s office did not respond to AL.com’s questions about the omission, but a spokeswoman told the Reflector that the staff serves at the “pleasure of the governor.”

“The cabinet members and all of us on staff serve at the pleasure of the governor, and as I shared in the initial update: ‘Governor Ivey has made the decision to have a change in leadership at the department and accepted Dr. Cooper’s resignation immediately,’” she wrote.

NAEYC, which previously launched a petition in support of Cooper, declined to comment any further.

Timeline of events

AL.com’s records request did not indicate any relevant communications between the governor’s office and Cooper’s department prior to mid-April, when concerns from lawmakers were brought to the department’s attention.

On Thursday, April 13, at 11:07 a.m., Ivey’s Chief of Staff Liz Filmore emailed Cooper a copy of a legislative document and asked her to review it.

“The attached document is being circulated around the Legislature. It is obviously concerning!” she wrote. “Please review and determine if this document is the approved curriculum by the Department of Early Childhood Education.”

The attached document, dated April 12, identified several passages from the NAEYC manual that encouraged educators to consider social and cultural backgrounds of their students, as well as how their own biases may impact their teaching. Someone appeared to have highlighted phrases about white privilege, LGBTQ families and structural racism.

Experts told AL.com that the DAP manual is not a curriculum, nor is it in any way intended to be read by children. The manual is a tool to help educators improve their daily practices.

The attached document matched an electronic copy obtained by AL.com earlier this year. Kiel, who represents Russellville, told AL.com he created the document after he received a complaint from an Alabama teacher about the manual, which he called “appalling.”

“I have been told by multiple education groups that ‘divisive concepts’ are not in our schools, yet the material I read was offensive to me and the majority of the people I represent,” Kiel said at the time.

Filmore’s copy of the document appears to have been printed out and includes the name “Users/DGoza” at the bottom of the page. According to reporting from the Alabama Reflector, Kiel asked Daisy Goza, an assistant to Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, to print out the document, which was then shared with the governor’s office.

On Friday, April 14, at 5:14 p.m., Cooper emailed all members of the Department of Early Childhood Education, announcing that the department would discontinue the use of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice manual, which she called “unacceptable.”

“The ADECE was made aware of content in the 4th edition of the NAEYC Developmentally Appropriate Practice book that was not in previous editions,” she wrote. “After a thorough review, we have found concerning and non-age-appropriate concepts in the resource book intended for educators from this national group.”

She told staffers to return the book to their supervisors by no later than Wednesday, April 19. She said the department would also stop using modules and small group activities included in the manual.

A few minutes after the memo was sent, ADECE Communications Director Samuel Adams sent a copy to Filmore, as well as other members of the Governor’s executive staff.

A few days later, on April 17, Cooper notified NAEYC CEO Michelle Kang that she would not be able to attend the group’s board meeting the following week, due to upcoming legislative meetings.

Cooper explained that the governor had requested an increase in the department’s budget, and she needed to be there to talk with lawmakers.

“I had hoped I’d be able to work through these challenges prior to Sunday and reschedule any new commitments, but this is not the case,” she wrote. “I appreciate your understanding and allowing me this opportunity to be present for the children in Alabama.”

But just a few days later, Cooper sent in her notice.

On Friday, April 21 at 12:42 p.m., Cooper emailed Filmore a brief notice of her resignation, effective May 1, 2023. Filmore replied, also at 12:42, accepting the resignation.

Less than two hours later, the Governor’s office sent out a news release about Cooper’s departure. In response to questions from reporters a few days later, Ivey said the two had “mutually agreed that she should move on.”

Neither AL.com’s or The Reflector’s record requests show any communications between Cooper and the governor’s staff in that time period. A spokeswoman did not answer questions about the gap in communication records or about the governor’s decision to force Cooper’s resignation.