Emily Jones: The AEA must prove their ‘conservative’ rebrand in 2026

When a teachers’ union compares its relationship with conservatives to Donald Trump’s diplomacy with Kim Jong Un, you know Alabama politics are shifting in strange ways.

Recently, the Alabama Education Association (AEA) began claiming it now “ backs conservative education issues .” After decades of funding Democrat candidates, opposing school choice, and pushing progressive ideology in classrooms, that claim deserves serious scrutiny.

The question isn’t whether the AEA can sound conservative – it’s whether it will act like it.

The NEA Connection: Still Tied to the National Agenda

According to data from the Alabama Policy Institute , the AEA remains financially and ideologically linked to the National Education Association (NEA) – the same organization behind national “equity”