A new advocacy group declared Thursday that Hispanic education is in crisis. The group's solution: Allow students to pick their schools _ and use vouchers.

"We believe that a clear and daring national Latino voice must speak out in favor of our largest minority group, which is the most uneducated and the most undereducated population in our country today," said Robert Aguirre, chair of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Education Options.

The San Antonio businessman is one of four Texans on the board. The others are Melissa Myers, director of development for Advantage Schools Inc. in Houston; Joseph Pena, founder of the PAZ Group in Dallas; and Lydia Torrez, director of development at Bishop Dunne Catholic School in Dallas.

The Washington group announced its plans at a time when the nation's capital is embroiled in a debate about allowing local students to choose their schools.

Conservatives see the city's troubled system as a perfect opportunity to prove that education will get better if schools are forced to compete. But critics contend public schools will be harmed if the best students leave.

Hispanic CREO, whose acronym in Spanish translates to "I believe," receives funding from its board members and about a dozen foundations that support school choice and voucher initiatives.

The council joins another minority group advocating school choice, the Black Alliance of Educational Options. Both groups will be going up against many well-funded traditional education groups, many of which are aligned with Democrats and anti-voucher.

Among those is the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Gabriela Lemus, LULAC's education expert, said most Hispanic students would not benefit from a voucher program because private schools limit enrollments. "I do not see private schools being able to address the problems in public education," she said.

Mr. Aquirre said his group fully supports public schools, calling them key to the choice option.

The group said MOST non-Hispanic families can choose their schools, because they have the wealth to buy homes in good neighborhoods. They said school choice would allow lower-income Hispanic students to cross neighborhood boundaries and get into better schools.
"Hispanic students are more likely to be trapped in schools that are not meeting their needs," said Jay Greene, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative research group.