Even more interesting considering charter school selection is by lottery. For students enrolling in district schools, the materials are available in 8-14 languages at centralized enrollment centers.

My guess is that Hispanic students are more likely to have parents who don't speak proficient English, which may also have something to do with the under-enrollment of students whose first language is not English.

Although Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in New York City's public schools, there are almost twice as many blacks among the 30,000 charter school students, an analysis by The New York Times shows.

The issue is a sticky one among charter school advocates, who say the most important aspect of any school is that it educates the students who attend. But officials at the city's Education Department acknowledge that charter schools should better reflect the city and say that they are working to attract to the schools more immigrants, including those from Latin America. This year, for the first time, the city produced a directory of charter schools, translating it into eight languages.

"We're talking about a group of schools that in the grand scheme of things are relatively new and are seeking to connect with students who are going to require extra efforts to reach," said Michael Duffy, the head of the charter school office of the Education Department.