NYC expands preschool special education with $67 million investment in programs
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and school officials announced a huge expansion of preschool special education Tuesday morning.
The $67.5 million investment will help children access the program earlier and closer to home. Specialized programs Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES will become available in 14 districts across the five boroughs starting in the fall.
The money will also go toward hiring more staff to reduce evaluation wait times, expand bilingual testing options and help families navigate the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process.
Hundreds of new staff members being hired
"Every child deserves to learn and grow in their community, and every family deserves a public education system that meets them exactly where they are," Mamdani said in a statement.
Preschool Regional Assessment Centers will be getting new employees, including psychologists, social workers, speech evaluators and occupational therapists.
The Special Education Itinerant Teacher Program will also grow with special education teachers being placed in general classrooms to help students with IEPs learn alongside their peers.
"This investment is about strengthening the foundation, and when we get early childhood education right, we set children up for a lifetime of success," said the city's School Chancellor Kamar Samuels.
District included in expansion
- District 2: PS 042 Benjamin Altman
- District 5: PS 133 Fred R. Moore
- District 6: PS 005 Ellen Lurie
- District 7: Academy of Exploratory Arts
- District 9: PS 028 Mount Hope, P.S. 058, P.S. 070 Max Schoenfeld, P.S. 063X Author's Academy, and Lucero Elementary School
- District 10: P.S. 310 Marble Hill, PS 023 The New Children's School, Rose Hill Pre-K Center
- District 11: P.S. 068 Bronx, P.S. 111 Seton Falls, P.S. 121 Throop
- District 12: P.S. 006 West Farms, Samara Community School
- District 14: P.S. 147 Isaac Remsen
- District 15: P.S. 015 Patrick Daly, P.S. 024, P.S. 958
- District 20: D20 Pre-K Center
- District 21: P.S. 212 Lady Deborah Moody
- District 30: P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School, P.S. 171 Peter G. Van Alst
- District 31: P.S. 054 Charles W. Leng
