The U.S. Department of Justice is making more work for most Alabama school systems.
A Nov. 1 letter from Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez to every district in the state reminded superintendents of the justice department's responsibility to prevent discrimination.
It included a list of information that had to be provided to the DOJ by Monday.
The list, which the DOJ stressed as "preliminary in nature," includes nine items mostly concerned with withdrawal rates and the race and nationality of students who withdrew in the last year.
Todd Freeman, principal of Auburn High School, said the percentage of Hispanics in Auburn was already low at 2.1 percent.
"Our Hispanic population in terms of percentage is not as significant as many other schools in the state," Freeman said. "At Auburn High School I have not seen any noticeable withdrawal patterns because of the immigration act.
"We have a very small percentage of Hispanic students, so we would notice, obviously, if they left. That would be very significant to us."
Mark Neighbors, superintendent of Opelika schools, said he's frustrated by the action because it gives the districts little time to compile information already available at the state level.
"They just want dates and absences. They can get that from the state department (of education)," Neighbors said. "I don't really know why they sent it--maybe to irritate us."
He said the information is available to the DOJ electronically.
"I think we've had three students leave," Neighbors said, adding they were all elementary students. "I've not really seen an impact. North Alabama has seen a bigger impact."
Neighbors said there's more farm work in Northern Alabama than in the Auburn-Opelika area, which could explain the low population of Hispanic students.
Perez included a note concerning conflicts regarding denying education to students.
"As you know, in Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the Supreme Court held that a state may not deny a child equal access to public education based on his or her immigration status," Perez wrote.
Neighbors emphasized schools don't request immigration information from students.
"All we do is we code into the computer, which is uploaded to the state, their nation of origin," Neighbors said. "We're not allowed by federal law to not take any child that meets the requirements (of enrollment)."
The DOJ is also requiring school districts to send monthly updates to Washington, D.C.
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