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NEW YORK, NY February 28, 2007 —A federal judge has ruled that a 23 year old woman with cerebral palsy can continue her costly education program at the city's expense. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

Alba Somoza graduated from a city high school in 2002 with a Regents diploma. But she was functionally illiterate and her family persuaded the city to compensate her with a specialized learning program.

Since then, Alba - who cannot speak -has been working with a teacher and a computer to help her communicate at a cost her family estimates at $400,000 a year. She also audits classes at Queens College. But the city argued this expensive program should end in 2006. Now, a federal judge has ruled the city can't take away her services without further review. The city says it will appeal.

But, Mary Somoza says her daughter Alba needs another year and a half to get her literacy up to speed for a vocational program. If they take away the services now, she says, all that money they invested will have been for nothing. For WNYC, I'm Beth Fertig.