$67.5 million investment brings nationally recognized special education programs to 14 school districts across every borough beginning this fall
Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a major expansion of preschool special education, bringing the City’s nationally recognized Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES programs to Pre-K classrooms for the first time.
Supported by a $67.5 million investment in the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget, the expansion will make these specialized programs available in 14 school districts across all five boroughs beginning this fall, giving young children with disabilities access to high-quality instruction in their own communities.
“Children with disabilities should not be forced to travel across the city just to get the education they deserve,” said Mayor Mamdani. “That’s why we’re bringing those classrooms closer to home and taking another critical step toward making Pre-K truly universal. 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.”
“Every child deserves the chance to learn and grow in a classroom built around their needs, and that chance should start as early as possible,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “For the first time, we’re giving young children with autism and other disabilities the same high-quality, specialized instruction that has delivered real results for our older students. This investment is about strengthening the foundation and when we get early childhood education right, we set children up for a lifetime of success.”
“Early childhood education is about delivering every child a strong start in life – the kind of framework that sets children up for high academic performance throughout their lives, long-term career success and strong social emotional skills that they will carry with them forever,” said Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. “This investment means more children with disabilities will receive the responsive, attentive and evidence-based education they deserve, from the very beginning of their educational journey.”
The expansion will provide young learners with high-quality, individualized instruction that strengthens academic, communication and social development in both inclusive and specialized classroom settings.
In addition to expanding classroom access, the investment strengthens the systems that help children receive services earlier and supports families throughout the special education process.
NYCPS will hire hundreds of new staff members to reduce evaluation wait times, expand bilingual assessment options and help families navigate the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The investment includes 35 new professionals across 10 additional Preschool Regional Assessment Centers (PRACs), including psychologists, social workers, speech evaluators and occupational therapists.
Building on a successful pilot, the Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) program will also expand, placing special education teachers in general education preschool classrooms and helping more young children with IEPs learn alongside their peers. An additional 29 therapists and specialists will strengthen services for children attending community-based 3-K and Pre-K programs.
Students will be placed into new program locations across the following school districts:
- 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
“A strong educational start sets up all our kids for a bright future and these investments ensure that for our pre-k students with disabilities,” said NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities’ Commissioner Nisha Agarwal. “Under this administration, we’re working everyday to see that every child and family has what they need to thrive in education and beyond. Thank you to our partners at NYC Public Schools and the teams across the city that will help this investment come to life.”
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