New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced new investments in his upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Executive Budget totaling $167 million to support young children and their families and strengthen funding to preserve and protect critical early childhood education programing benefiting the most vulnerable children across the five boroughs. These investments include committing — for the first time — to annual funding for a citywide 3-K expansion and for pre-K students with disabilities to ensure continuity. Additionally, New York City Public Schools will be conducting a strategic realignment of the federally funded Head Start program to expand Early Head Start for younger children.
“To truly make New York City the best place to raise a family, we know we must invest in our children’s future, and today, we’re making bold investments in early childhood education — to ensure our youngest students have the tools they need to succeed, and so parents don’t have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their children,” said Mayor Adams. “For the first time ever, we’re baselining nearly $170 million annually to support critical programs like pre-K special education and expand citywide 3-K, and ensuring this funding becomes a permanent part of our city’s budget so that the programs can and will be maintained for years to come. We’re also working strategically to promote equity and high-impact outcomes for our youngest learners by planning ahead to buffer anticipated changes in federal Head Start funding, and we’ll be working closely with families to make sure they’re informed about Head Start and all the early childhood education options available to them. Our administration understands what families need, as well as the courage and conviction to do what’s right to continue delivering for working-class New Yorkers, every day, everywhere.”
“As a working mom, I know firsthand how hard it can be to balance a career and raising a family in New York City. That’s why investing in early childhood education isn’t just policy — it’s personal,” said Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “For the first time, our administration is committing nearly $170 million every year to essential programs like pre-K special education and expanding 3-K access across the city. These bold investments ensure our kids have the foundation they need to succeed. Our Head Start program is vital, particularly for our most vulnerable New Yorkers, and I understand firsthand the importance of finding programs that meet our families’ needs in their own neighborhoods. We are thrilled to announce that our administration is committing to securing funding for these programs, ensuring that every family can feel confident knowing their child has access to a quality program in their community.”
Over the FY 2025 budget cycle, Mayor Adams protected more than $600 million in key, long-term education programs that had been previously funded with expiring stimulus dollars by making investments in Summer Rising, a citywide 3-K expansion, special education pre-K, community schools, social workers, and arts education. This investment included one-time funding of $92 million to support a citywide 3-K expansion. Additionally, the Adams administration invested $20 million to ensure that every student on a 3-K waitlist was offered a seat, and $55 million to provide more than 700 new seats for three- and four-year-olds with special needs. In his upcoming FY 2026 Executive Budget, Mayor Adams will baseline funding for these crucial programs for the first time ever in city history to support children and families and keep the promise that every child who wants an early childhood seat will have access to one, now and in the future.
Mayor Adams is also committed to ensuring that all children receive high-quality educational services, with a focus on providing the highest level of support to the city’s most vulnerable children and families. Head Start is a critical lifeline for thousands of New York’s children under the age of five. To extend federal funding for the program, and in response to historic utilization rates, New York City Public Schools reapplied for Head Start this year with the Administration for Children & Families — located within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — to prioritize an expansion of Early Head Start, which serves infants and toddlers under the age of three. As Mayor Adams has repeatedly said, every child who needs an Early Childhood Education seat should be offered a seat, and the transition to a new mix of seats for older and younger children will be carefully managed to minimize disruptions, with clear guidance and alternative placements for affected families. Accordingly, New York City Public Schools will help families explore the available Early Head Start, Head Start, 3-K, and pre-K options, and is engaging with providers, elected officials, and families to ensure transparency and support throughout the process. The fiscal implications to the city will be determined after the federal government responds to the grant application.
A thriving early childhood education system is crucial to making New York City more affordable, particularly for women and families. The Adams administration’s child care blueprint found that almost 375,000 parents left or downshifted their jobs because of COVID-19 and a lack of access to quality child care. For mothers, the decision to leave the workforce to care for a child can cost up to $145,000 in foregone earnings across their lifetime. That is why the Adams administration has prioritized developing an early childhood program that works for the long-term and has seen results in terms of access and affordability.
Mayor Adams’ commitment to investing in education for New York City children is also reflected in the FY 2026 Preliminary Budget that was released in January 2025, with:
- Continuing support for the Summer Rising academic and enrichment programming, which includes a savings restoration of $20 million for extended hours and Friday services to about 30,000 middle school participants ($100 million), as well as Learning to Work, which helps re-engage students who have fallen behind earn a high school diploma and prepare for college and careers ($31 million).
- Expanding the Pathways program to provide career readiness opportunities for students at New York City Public Schools ($17.5 million).
- Supporting programs that help young New Yorkers learn academic, work, and independent living skills, including Fair Future expansion, College Choice expansion, Career Choice/Workforce Ready, Girls JustUs expansion, and Assertive Community Engagement & Success citywide expansion — all announced as part of Mayor Adams’ 2025 State of the City Address ($15 million).
- Opening an additional 11 schoolyards to be used as public playgrounds after school, on weekends, and during the summer as part of the Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative, announced as part of Mayor Adams’ 2025 State of the City Address ($770,000).
Last year, Mayor Adams and leadership of the New York City Council announced a historic joint effort to strengthen early childhood education across the five boroughs and address longstanding systemic issues, while boosting enrollment and connecting families with more Pre-K and 3-K seats. The strategic plan — developed by an unprecedented joint Adams administration-City Council working group — was anchored by $100 million in new city investment allocated in the FY 2025 Adopted Budget to implement an action-oriented roadmap for outreach and seat allocation across the city. With the new $100 million investment, the total investment in the FY 2025 city budget for early childhood education is $3 billion, comprised of $2 billion for early childhood education programming for children aged zero to five and approximately $1 billion for preschool special education.
Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, the city has also made significant investments and enacted policies to support working-class families and put money back into the pockets of working-class New Yorkers by reducing the per child co-payment or out-of-pocket cost of subsidized child care for a family earning $55,000 a year from $55 a week in 2022 to just $4.80 a week today — more than 10 times less. The city has also reduced the co-payments all families pay for subsidized care, bringing the average co-payment per child to less than $220 per year, down from $1,500 annually in 2022.
“I was proud to launch the most ambitious and expansive Universal Pre-K and 3-K program in our country’s history,” said former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With it, we were able to demonstrate the importance of early childhood education. By making these investments in early childhood education permanent, Mayor Adams is doubling-down on ensuring our youngest New Yorkers have the resources they need to thrive, and making a commitment to the working families who rely on this program that New York City will always have their back.”
“As the product of Head Start, I understand deeply how impactful this program is for our young children and families,” said Tiffany Rodriguez, chair, New York City Public Schools Head Start Policy Council. “I commend the Adams administration for stepping up to ensure continuity of this vital program and their work to expand access to high-quality early childhood education for New York City families.”
“To have a thriving economy that encourages young families to live and work in New York, our city needs accessible, high-quality child care for children under five. Families, employers and all New Yorkers have made this clear, and the administration's announcement today shows that they are listening,” said Grace Rauh, executive director, the 5BORO Institute. “We applaud the administration for baselining these critical early care and education funds and we will continue to push for even greater access to affordable, high-quality care for New York City families.”
“We thank Mayor Adams for baselining the funding for 3-K and preschool special education classes that was set to run out in June,” said Kim Sweet, executive director, Advocates for Children of New York. “This funding has provided early childhood programs for thousands of children, including seats for hundreds of children with disabilities who otherwise would have been sitting at home, and we are relieved that these new classes will be sustained next year and beyond. While today’s announcement is an important step forward, there is still much work left to do to address the needs of preschoolers with disabilities who are currently waiting for seats in preschool special education classes and for services like speech therapy and counseling. We look forward to seeing additional investments to ensure all preschoolers receive the special education services they need and have the legal right to receive.”
