The Alabama State Department of Education is correcting an administrative error after an educator received a letter saying she had been appointed to the State Textbook Committee for Digital Literacy and Computer Science, though she had not been formally appointed through the process required by state law.
Emily Eddings-Sandley, technology and media specialist at Magic City Acceptance Academy, received a letter signed by State Superintendent Eric Mackey informing her that she had been appointed to the committee, which reviews digital literacy and computer science instructional materials.
Questions arose because Eddings-Sandley’s name did not appear among members approved by the State Board of Education or appointed by Governor Kay Ivey and confirmed by the Alabama Senate.
State law provides two appointment processes for the 23-member State Textbook Committee. The governor appoints nine members, subject to Senate confirmation, and the State Board of Education appoints the remaining 14.
The board’s appointments include eight classroom teachers representing its districts, four at-large members who are educators or education administrators and two employees of state institutions of higher education.
The committee reviews instructional materials submitted by publishers and recommends materials to the board, which has final authority to adopt textbooks for Alabama public schools.
At Tuesday’s State Board of Education meeting, Mackey said an internal administrative error resulted in the letter being sent. He said he routinely signs large batches of appointment letters and other official correspondence.
In this case, Mackey said the packet included more appointment letters than it should have, including several sent in error. He apologized to the board.
“It was an error inside the department, and I’m sorry about that,” Mackey said. “We will fix it, and we’re also going to have some changes to internal processes to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.”
The department is reviewing how the incorrect letters were generated and routed for Mackey’s signature. He said it would implement safeguards to prevent similar errors and that it would handle any personnel matters internally.
“I don’t know what to tell you other than I’m really sorry that it happened,” Mackey said. “I think it’s a real travesty because you’ve got people working really hard to get things done. There are a lot of great things happening, as we demonstrated this morning. I’m going to celebrate all the good things that are going on, but then that means, as superintendent, I have to also own up to it when bad things happen or things fall through.”
