status of students enrolling in the system . The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted the Justice Department 's request for an emergency injunction for that section of the law but allowed other controversial parts to continue being enforced . Justice urges Alabama schools ' compliance on immigrant laws The Alabama Department of Education sent a memorandum to school districts recommending they wait for resolution of the issue between the state attorney and Justice Department before responding to the DOJ request . In the days following the implementation of HB 56 , the number of Latino students skipping class spiked . Malissa Valdes , communication manager for the Alabama Department of Education , said the number of Latino absentees has since leveled off but remains several hundred higher than normal . The Department of Education also released enrollment numbers for the current school year showing an overall decrease in the student population but a 2.8 percent increase in Latino students , who represent some 35,000 of the state 's 740,000 students . Valdes said the state tried to inform the districts of possible changes related to HB 56 while stressing that no student should be denied enrollment
Montgomery , Alabama -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Alabama 's attorney general questioned Wednesday whether the federal government has the legal right to ask for data from school districts in the state , which has recently passed controversial legislation intended to reduce illegal immigration . In a letter sent Wednesday , Attorney General Luther Strange said he was `` perplexed and troubled '' about a request from the Justice Department for information about Alabama 's schools . The Justice Department issued the letter Tuesday to Alabama school districts to ensure they are complying with federal law , which declares that a child may not be denied equal access to schools based on his or her immigration status . Strange 's letter noted that the law was still being litigated . Strange set a Friday noon deadline for Thomas Perez , assistant attorney general for DOJ 's civil rights division , to provide the legal authority for his request . Last spring , the Alabama legislature passed the law known as HB 56 relating to illegal immigration and a federal judge allowed most of its provisions to go into effect , including a mandate for public schools to ask about the immigration