The city on Thursday allocated an additional $80 million to expand early childhood education programs, including a childcare initiative for children ages 0 to 2-years-old from low-income households.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he is allocating $70 million in funding to support pre-K special education students who require occupational therapy, speech therapy, or other related services.
The focus will be to reduce meeting wait times for parents of the nearly 1,200 children with special education needs in integrated classes and evaluate close to 1,800 more students annually for special education classes — doubling the amount of Preschool Regional Assessment Center teams.
A total of $50 million will be allocated for pre-K special education seats will expand access to related services, such as speech or occupational and physical therapy for preschool students. An additional $10 million will support increasing the number of administrators to reduce caseloads and adding more community coordinators, while $10 million will help increase preschool special education evaluations, reducing the burden on families to locate private providers.
"For too long, working families have struggled with the cost of childcare," Adams said in a statement. "For years, the cost of living has driven many New Yorkers out of the five boroughs, but our administration has been taking action because we understand the best way to make the American Dream a reality for New Yorkers is by making our city more affordable for working-class families."
Additionally, $10 million is allocated for the creation of a pilot childcare program for 0 to 2-year-olds from low-income households. New York City Public Schools and the Mayor’s Office of Early Childhood Education will begin outreach to childcare providers this month to gauge interest and capacity to care and expand learning opportunities.
The city will analyze demand and capacity before beginning an enrollment effort for the pilot program, expected to begin in January 2026.
