There is nothing untoward or inappropriate about the state of Alabama collecting information on the immigrant status of children enrolling in their schools.
If the federal government is so offended by the states' attempts to catalogue the effects of integrating youth who may or may not be citizens, then perhaps the Supreme Court should reverse its short-sighted ruling in Plyler v. Doe
Public schools run on public money. By forcing public schools to take in students, regardless of their citizenship status, creates an undue burden on states, which now more than ever are so cash-strapped, that they cannot even provide core services to those who reside in the state legally.
The federal government must get out of the habit of ordering which individuals the states are bound to serve, unless Congressmen and federal judges are willing to donate a larger portion of their federally subsidized salaries to defraying the costs that are weighing down on states overwhelmed with required services to non-paying residents.