Early Childhood
NYC officials announced a budget agreement that restores funding to a slew of programs that were on the chopping block.
The battle comes four years after the city boosted teacher pay in community-based programs to match their public-school counterparts.
Programs have long struggled to provide all children with the services they need, as they are legally required to do.
This year’s offer data shows very little change in racial and economic diversity, particularly for high school, despite seeing the biggest admissions changes.
The decision to start the new school year with steady budgets, however, doesn’t mean schools are completely immune from cuts.
Mayor Eric Adams has proposed ending Promise NYC, which has provided free child care to 600 undocumented immigrant children.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams blasted the mayor’s approach to early childhood education, describing the system as “broken” and “in full crisis mode.
Two-thirds of that cut, or about $650 million, is the result of Adams’ decision to reduce the city’s contribution to the education department.
The education department’s spending per pupil has increased by 46%, in large part due to the billions in federal COVID aid the district received as enrollment has dipped.
The study comes after Mayor Eric Adams decided earlier this year to pause the expansion of the preschool program for 3-year-olds as planned under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The gap in services is particularly acute in the Bronx, where more than two-thirds of children did not receive all of the therapies they could have.
The office’s creation comes as the education department’s own early childhood office has faced intense scrutiny over the past several months under Adams’ leadership.
Monday’s announcement represents the Adams administration’s gradual unpeeling of COVID-related rules established under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The $10 million initiative aims to help the influx of asylum-seeking families from South America who have come to New York City over the past several months. Previously, undocumented familes were not eligible for subsized child care.
Mayor Eric Adams plans to open 800 new special education seats for New York City’s for 3- and 4-year-old children by this spring. Hundreds of kids have been waiting to get into programs that meet their needs.
As of this fall, the city had planned to open 55,000 3-K seats, but 15,000 seats are currently unfilled.
Schools Chancellor David Banks blamed problems with payments on the previous administration.
As Mayor Eric Adams stares down a massive budget shortfall, New York City has no clear plans to sustain its growing 3-K program.
The lack of communication about the new plan has sowed confusion and concern among staff and preschool providers.
Staffers will be moved “to more effectively support schools in coordination with district superintendents,” the department says.
At least 1,000 new students are expected to enroll in district schools, including preschool-aged children.
Student enrollment has big implications for public schools, and declines can lead to less funding and school closures or mergers.
To help address the exodus of women from the workforce, New York state is using federal money for a grant program to start new child care programs in areas lacking enough options.
The plan calls for helping families access care more easily, expanding services to reach 41,000 more children.
Starting June 13, children under 5 will no longer be required to wear masks.
One of the largest pushes this year went toward expanding free child care. The city’s public schools will receive just over $12 billion in state funding.
The investment will be spread over four years and could help to stabilize an industry shaken by COVID.
If the new school comes to fruition, it would be the second public school in NYC to focus specifically on students with dyslexia. A charter opened with that mission in 2019.
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