"She has a tendency to befriend the underdog -- handicapped students and minorities," Mr. Lepley said.
The court noted that the category of related services includes such supportive measures as transportation and equipment that makes schools accessible to handicapped students.
They criticized the commission for its silence on what is becoming the thorniest issue among lawmakers and advocates: how to handle handicapped students who act up in class.
The new proposal, first raised by a presidential commission on special education last July, would simply make such vouchers easier to obtain for handicapped students.
The inquiry focused on a company called TransCare, which had a contract to transport 27 of about 50 severely physically handicapped students.
Several hundred handicapped students are educated by the village's own public school district, which, because virtually all the students are poor and disabled, is eligible for sizable state and federal government grants.
But Mr. Maiocco said the proposed design offered the most elegant solution and would provide handicapped students with the easiest route to an elevator planned for the main hall in Graham House.
More than 300 county residents who rely on the bus service, including the elderly, the handicapped, students, health aides and other commuters, showed up to speak and demonstrate at a hearing on Tuesday held by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
"If I am going to end up cleaning houses with my mother," Amalia said to explain why she almost quit Hylton, "why go to high school?" Hylton's program has become a source of pride for helping immigrant students succeed in school, but also a target of criticism that segregated classes have handicapped students by isolating them and "dumbing down" the curriculum.
The Warren Avenue School, a public elementary school with several programs for physically handicapped students, was torn down, its programs dispersed, and provided most of the site of the Coliseum (now KeyArena).
