A school board vote was postponed, even as Latino parents threatened to pull their children out of school in protest.

But Latino parents are often very involved in their children's schooling, he said.

Many Latino parents are working a lot, so their ability to get involved is limited.

In October 2005, a group of eight Latino parents filed a discrimination lawsuit in a federal district court.

We currently have a lot of Latino parents watching our kids programming with their children, but we'd love having more of them in prime time.

The referendum idea took hold when a group of Latino parents boycotted a Los Angeles elementary school to demand that their children be excused from ineffective bilingual classes.

"With Latino parents, it was a big problem."

The debate often follows racial and class lines, with Latino parents opposing the track schools and affluent non-Hispanic parents backing them.

Latino parents, especially those who speak little English and know little about the military, are especially susceptible to a recruiter's persistence and charm, critics say.

"The last time Latino parents in the South End of Boston banded together was 20 years ago," he added.