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MAYOR ADAMS AND CHANCELLOR BANKS ANNOUNCE HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN PRESCHOOL SPECIAL-EDUCATION SUPPORTS AND EXPANSION OF ACCESS
NYC Public Schools Enhance 3,000 Special Education Seats Across 65 Early Childhood Providers, Adding 400 New Seats
Additional Expansion Expected to Open Enough Preschool Seats This Spring to Serve All Children Living with Disabilities
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks today announced an expansion of early childhood education special-education seats across the five boroughs, in partnership with community-based providers, that will provide an early childhood education special-education seat for every child living with a disability by the spring of 2023.
Previously, the early childhood education system did not have a strategic or intentional focus on serving young children living with disabilities and their families. Through a citywide contract enhancement process, New York City public schools is addressing this historic inequity by expanding the number of seats reserved for students living with disabilities across early childhood education and increasing pay for educators and providers.
“I know from personal experience what it’s like not to have had the supports I needed to learn and thrive as child. For far too long, our young students living with disabilities have struggled in a system that hasn’t been fully able to meet them where they are,” said Mayor Adams.
“Today, we’re changing that. This expansion ensures not only that our youngest are provided the resources they need to succeed, but that the educators and caretakers who serve them are paid fairly and at a rate worthy of the life shaping the work they do. This investment is long overdue, and I’m so grateful to everyone who has worked tirelessly to make this a reality.”
For more information, see here.
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