A new report from the Alabama Policy Institute (API) alleges the once-dominant Alabama Education Association (AEA) remains closely tied to national teachers union National Education Association (NEA) “both organizationally and financially” despite AEA’s “recent claims” to the contrary,” API’s CEO Stephanie Smith writes. 

AEA has recently tried to distance itself from national politics.

When the Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) moved in 2023 to ban candidates in many school races from taking AEA/NEA money, AEA executive director Amy Marlowe blasted the party’s rhetoric as “false accusations.” She said AEA’s focus was on education “with no partisan perspective or fringe ideologies.”

“The AEA is not an independent entity,” API’s report opens. “It is the official state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). This structure means that the AEA is formally and organizationally tied to the NEA and its priorities.”

“Between 2015 and 2024, AEA received a total of $29.76 million from the NEA,” API asserts. “These NEA transfers represented an average of 17.45 percent of AEA’s total annual revenue. In 2024 alone, NEA support accounted for 15.17 percent of AEA revenue.” 

Over the weekend, ALGOP Chairman John Wahl and AEA representatives met to address concerns that a forthcoming push would tighten homeschool oversight.

Wahl called the meeting “cordial and productive” and said he was “pleased to hear directly from the AEA that they have no plans to pursue additional reporting or enrollment requirements for homeschool families.”

That sit-down marks the largest indication of direct exchange between ALGOP and the state’s #1 teacher’s union since in 2023, when the state party’s executive committee voted to ban AEA/NEA contributions in most GOP school-board and superintendent contests, at that time, largely over concerns with NEA’s national agenda and AEA’s resistance of school choice expansion.

“NEA’s assistance is not philanthropic, it is strategic,” API’s report highlights today. 

It details NEA programming and priorities that API argues clash with Alabama law and values.

Summarizing NEA’s School Me podcast and related content, API writes: “Multiple episodes highlight the ‘BLM at School’ initiative… Teachers are encouraged to introduce the ‘13 principles of Black Lives Matter’ into classroom instruction during the first week of February,” including “Queer Affirming, Trans Affirming, and Unapologetically Black.”

“LGBTQ advocacy also features heavily,” the report continues. “NEA [highlights] its partnership with GLSEN… [and] encourages teachers to integrate LGBTQ perspectives into classrooms, stressing that representation and inclusion are necessary parts of public education.”

“Together, these examples illustrate that NEA uses its podcast not only to support teachers with professional tools but also to intentionally embed ideological concepts into K–12 education… [that] align education with specific social and political agendas.”

The report then connects NEA content to Alabama’s 2024 law, SB 129, which “prohibits public schools and agencies from teaching or promoting ‘divisive concepts,’” including that individuals are inherently oppressive by virtue of race or sex or that meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist.

“For AEA, the risk under SB 129 is significant,” API concludes. “AEA’s role as the state affiliate of NEA ties it to the dissemination of materials and training that promote concepts expressly prohibited by law.”

The report concludes: 

Ultimately, Alabama stands at a crossroads.

The state can continue funding and legitimizing a system that imports divisive ideology into its classrooms, or it can act decisively to restore focus on academic excellence and community values.

Doing so will require leadership, from lawmakers who uphold the law, from educators who reject blatant politicization of education, and from parents who demand academic results and accountability.

The future of Alabama’s education system depends on ensuring that the classroom remains a place of learning, not indoctrination. Our students deserve better.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.