3-K and Pre-K attract families into the public system at the very start of their children’s education and provide high-quality early learning opportunities to children who otherwise would not have access—helping prepare them for success in kindergarten and beyond. The number of children participating in 3-K doubled from 17,500 in 2019–20 to 35,700 in 2022–23 thanks to the investment of federal funds. While the Executive Budget includes $92M in one-year funding to make up for the loss of federal dollars, as well as an additional $3.5M for outreach, a funding gap of $170M remains due to proposed city budget cuts to 3-K and Pre-K.

Even as NYC has expanded 3-K and Pre-K, thousands of 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities are still denied their rights to preschool special education programs and services. The City used $96M in soon-to-expire federal stimulus funds to support preschoolers with disabilities including by offering a “contract enhancement” to preschool special education programs run by community-based organizations, many of which had been closing classes due to financial challenges; hiring preschool related service providers; and adding Committee on Preschool Special Education staff to help address delays in evaluating and serving children. The FY 2025 Executive Budget includes $83M toward continuing these efforts going forward. However, even with this year’s $96M federal investment, thousands of preschoolers with disabilities are currently waiting for their legally mandated services and more than 700 children are waiting for a seat in a preschool special education class—in violation of both their legal rights and the Mayor’s December 2022 promise to address the longstanding shortage of seats. While the Executive Budget adds $25M in one-year funding for preschool special education classes in district schools, NYCPS itself has acknowledged that this allocation is not sufficient to meet the need; the request it submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for preschool special education classes and services was for five times as much ($125M). The $25M investment would leave hundreds of preschoolers waiting for their legally mandated special education classes and thousands waiting for their legally mandated services in the coming year. Whether the City will uphold the civil rights of young children with disabilities—or leave thousands waiting for support at a critical stage in their development—should not be a question left to OMB’s discretion. The City should invest an additional $100M, as requested by NYCPS, to help ensure all preschoolers with disabilities receive their legally mandated special education classes and services in a timely manner.

No child should be turned away from an early learning program because of their immigration status, and in January 2023, the City launched Promise NYC to increase access to subsidized childcare for children who would otherwise be ineligible for existing programs due to federal restrictions. More than 600 children are now enrolled in childcare programs thanks to Promise NYC, which is supported by $16M in expiring one-year Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) funding. The number of children who stand to benefit from Promise NYC has only grown larger since the program was first announced; access to early care and education will help prepare immigrant children for success in elementary school and beyond, while also enabling their parents to work and connect with resources. The Executive Budget does not include funding to continue this program beyond June. We support the recommendation made by the City Council in its response to the preliminary budget to sustain this program and increase funding from $16M to $25M.

This initiative strengthens New York City Public Schools (NYCPS)’s communication with immigrant families—many of whom would otherwise be left without important information—by using local ethnic media to share school-related updates, sending paper notices to families’ homes, reaching families via phone calls and text messages, and collaborating with immigrant-facing community-based organizations to create and launch information campaigns. It is critical for this initiative to continue, especially given the recent increase in the number of newly arrived immigrant families in New York City, but it is supported by $4M in one-year city funding that was left out of the Executive Budget.

The Mental Health Continuum is a cross-agency partnership (NYCPS, Health + Hospitals, Department of Health & Mental Hygiene) to help students with significant mental health needs access expedited mental healthcare. This innovative model, which was highlighted in the Mayor’s Mental Health Plan and the City Council’s Mental Health Roadmap, supports students at more than 50 high-needs schools through school partnerships with H+H mental health clinics, dedicated staff to provide students with timely access to mental health services, a NYC Well hotline to advise school staff, mobile response teams to respond to students in crisis, and training for school staff in Collaborative Problem Solving to build their capacity to address student behavior. Recognizing the youth mental health crisis, the Mayor announced in April that the City would open 16 mental health clinics as part of the Mental Health Continuum. Yet, the $5M in one-year city funding for this initiative (NYCPS: $787K, H+H: $3.74M, DOHMH: $472K) is expiring in June and was left out of the Executive Budget.

One-time federal funding represents the bulk of the City’s investment in restorative justice practices, which enable schools to use alternatives to exclusionary discipline that keep students in the classroom while helping them build and repair relationships. NYCPS allocated $12M in expiring federal dollars for restorative practices. All students deserve schools where they feel safe and supported, but without sufficient resources and appropriate alternatives for addressing behavior and helping students navigate conflict, schools will continue to resort to suspensions—which do not make schools safer; disproportionately impact students of color, students with disabilities, and youth who are homeless or in the foster system; and have been linked with lower educational attainment and higher odds of future contact with the juvenile or criminal legal system. While the Mayor has committed to investing $6M in restorative practices to help offset the loss of federal dollars, a $6M gap remains.

Community schools provide students and their families with wrap-around supports and services, such as after-school programming, adult education classes, and medical, dental, and mental healthcare. This initiative, which expanded from 266 to more than 400 schools thanks to expiring federal and city funds, has proven effective at lowering chronic absenteeism and increasing on-time high school graduation rates. While the Executive Budget includes a $56M restoration for community schools, there is still a $14M gap due to one-year city funding that expires in June.

NYCPS used $3.3M in expiring federal stimulus funding to support Student Success Centers in 34 high schools, where trained youth leaders build a culture of college-going in their schools and help their peers with the college admissions process. Continued funding for this initiative ($3.3M) was left out of the Mayor’s budget.