Hopkins is correct. I've been in contact with FIFA in the past and this is legitimate information.
I'm aware that the Daily Mail journalist who wrote the story insists he is correct because he has spoken to someone at the FA and they cited Victor Moses changing switching association to Nigeria after playing for the England U21s, but he (they?) are wrong in assuming that Morgan Schneiderlin is in the same situation as Victor Moses was. Victor Moses met at least one of the criteria to play for Nigeria at the time he played for England U21s. In Moses' specific case, he was born in Nigeria to Nigerian parents whose parents were also Nigerian. The African international players who played for France at youth level are in similar situations.
Schneiderlin is ruled out even before the Home Nations Agreement is needed.
There are two criteria that he must meet to be eligible for England, this is the relevant part of the Eligibility Criteria from the 2013 FIFA Statutes:
Schneiderlin would be eligible for England as he meets this criteria, he hasn't played for France at "A" international level. However he doesn't meet the second criteria:
This is where he Schneiderlin does not meet the criteria to change national association, this part doesn't specify that it must be "A" international level, but refers to an "international match". He first played in an official competition (UEFA Under 17 Championship Elite Round) for his current Association (France) and wasn't eligible to play for England at the time (March 2006).
It's on page 65 of the FIFA Statutes linked below if anyone's interested.
Players also affected:
Adama Traore, a former Ivorian youth international wanted to play for Australia. The FFA released a statement saying that he was unable to play for them as he played for Ivory Coast prior to gaining Australian citizenship. [1]
Rubens Sambueza, a former Argentine youth international wanted to play for Mexico. FIFA rejected his application as he played for Argentina when he didn't have Mexican nationality.[2]
Mikel Arteta, the British press longed for the former Spanish U16 international to be involved in the England national team (conveniently forgetting about the Home Nations Agreement). Arteta was ruled out for the same reason as Schneiderlin, Arteta had played in the UEFA U16 Championship in 1999. [3]
