A federal lawsuit filed Monday claims the Hazleton Area School District's current method of electing directors dilutes the voting power of its Latino population and runs afoul of the law. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Aleida Aquino and Brendalis Lopez, two mothers with children in the district. It asks a federal judge to halt at-large voting for school directors because, their attorneys argue, the method violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee to equal protection. The district began electing at-large school directors in 1989. Before that, directors were elected by voters who lived in their regions.