From d2aeaf80f44355651f0e5662ad93ba4944fa45c0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Bea Esguerra <beaesguerra@khanacademy.org>
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2024 13:32:07 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] set error message to null instead of empty string when
 clearing the error

---
 .../src/components/__tests__/text-area.test.tsx               | 4 ++--
 packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/text-area.tsx      | 4 ++--
 2 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/__tests__/text-area.test.tsx b/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/__tests__/text-area.test.tsx
index b93c6b823..7fcd2b973 100644
--- a/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/__tests__/text-area.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/__tests__/text-area.test.tsx
@@ -1546,7 +1546,7 @@ describe("TextArea", () => {
                     expect(field).toHaveAttribute("aria-invalid", "false");
                 });
 
-                it("should call onValidate with an empty string when the user changes the value after there was an error", async () => {
+                it("should call onValidate with an null when the user changes the value after there was an error", async () => {
                     // Arrange
                     const handleValidate = jest.fn();
                     const errorMsg = "error message";
@@ -1570,7 +1570,7 @@ describe("TextArea", () => {
                     // Assert
                     expect(handleValidate.mock.calls).toStrictEqual([
                         [errorMsg],
-                        [""],
+                        [null],
                     ]);
                 });
 
diff --git a/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/text-area.tsx b/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/text-area.tsx
index 67171e61f..fcab8d600 100644
--- a/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/text-area.tsx
+++ b/packages/wonder-blocks-form/src/components/text-area.tsx
@@ -255,9 +255,9 @@ const TextArea = React.forwardRef<HTMLTextAreaElement, TextAreaProps>(
                     // If instantValidation is false and there is an error
                     // message, error needs to be cleared when the user updates
                     // the value
-                    setErrorMessage("");
+                    setErrorMessage(null);
                     if (onValidate) {
-                        onValidate("");
+                        onValidate(null);
                     }
                 }
             }