There is no good excuse for parents not being involved in the education of their children. On this, Herman Badillo and I agree.

A former congressman and Bronx borough president, Badillo - who, in recent years has become a right-wing poster child - has a new book out arguing, among other things, that parental involvement is integral to Hispanic educational achievement.

The book is causing quite a stir because Badillo also contends that Hispanic parents, as a group, do not value education. "Education is not a high priority in the Hispanic community," he writes, which is why "Hispanic parents rarely get involved with their children's schools. They seldom attend parent-teacher conferences, ensure that children do their homework or inspire their children to dream of attending college."

Let the hyperventilation begin. "Latinos Give Badillo an 'F,'" read one headline. "Herman Badillo Disses His Own Kind," says another.

Dios mio. With all due respect, who cares about Herman Badillo? The real headlines should be about whether there is any truth in what he has claimed - and what that means for our children.

On his first contention about the values of Hispanic parents, there is no truth, only politically driven lies. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to expect their children to earn a graduate or professional degree, more likely than non-Hispanic whites to have an adult in the household who checks that homework is done, and as likely to read to their children in grades K-3.

But there is truth in Badillo's contention that Hispanic parents need to become much more involved in their children's schools. According to that same national study, Hispanics are a little less likely to attend general school meetings and much less likely to attend class events or volunteer at their kids' schools.

If we're ever going to have systemic change, we need all parents, no matter their race or background, to be involved in the school system - and not just ankle deep. It's not enough to check homework each night.

So how do we do it? First of all, the school system makes it far harder than it needs to be for Hispanic parents. It took years to get the Department of Education to agree to provide translation services to parents. A recent study done by Advocates for Children and the New York Immigration Coalition showed that adequate translation and interpretation services still weren't available half the time. How can you expect parents to be engaged if the school system won't even speak their language?

Badillo would be a lot more credible critic if he took a little time off from his cultural crusade to talk about improving translation services at schools. Or if he called upon New York employers to allow working parents to attend parental conferences during the day without penalty - a move that would be especially important for Hispanics, who are more likely to live in poverty and work long and hard hours with few workplace protections.

But in the end, no obstacle is an excuse. My mom, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, spoke little English when I entered public kindergarten in Coney Island. And she came to every meeting and my teachers knew that a phone call would straighten out any misbehaving on my part - or theirs.

Badillo turned a serious problem into an easy political talking point. But the critics who focus exclusively on him aren't doing any better by Latino children.

We need more parents involved, and we need fewer obstacles to that involvement. If Badillo wants to focus on that challenge, I'll be the first in line to buy the book.

Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy