Eric Adams has announced that the city will invest over $500 million in city and state funding for educational programs for young New Yorkers including mental health care, career readiness, and literacy programs for New York City public school students in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Executive Budget.
The Adams administration will also launch a $5 million outreach effort to maximize the number of children enrolled in 3-K and Pre-K programs across New York City. Currently, New York City has tens of thousands of empty early childhood education seats that remain unfilled every day. The city’s $5 million outreach effort aims to maximize the number of children enrolled in child care, and by focusing on populations and neighborhoods with low enrollment rates, the administration will help ensure the promise that any child who needs an early childhood education seat can access one.
Additionally, the city will invest $25 million in funding to provide special education classes and related services within district schools to Pre-K students with special needs who would otherwise be on waiting lists at contracted providers. Finally, Mayor Adams announced the city will invest $8 million toward the MyCity portal, making it easier for any New Yorker to apply for subsidized child care and other city services.
In the Executive Budget, the Adams administration will apply a combination of $514 million in city resources and recurring state funds, to backfill programs, including:
- Supporting the citywide 3-K expansion as it transitions from its original stimulus funding source ($92 million, FY25);
- Supporting nearly 500 social workers and psychologists who provide mental health supports in schools ($74 million, FY25+);
- Maintain funding for special education Pre-K providers to increase service hours, and resources for DOE-related services and evaluation teams ($56 million, FY25+);
- Arts funding programming ($41 million, FY25);
- The Public Schools Athletic League ($27 million, FY25+);
- Literacy and dyslexia programs and academic assessments for both English language arts, and math ($17 million, FY25+);
- Funding for coordinators for students in temporary housing in schools and shelters ($17 million, FY25+);
- Bilingual education funding for curriculum and assessment, teacher preparation and staffing, professional learning, and multilingual family and community engagement for 100 bilingual programs ($10 million, FY25+);
- Support for the New Visions Data Platform data portal that is used by hundreds of schools to track and show student achievement and attendance data ($9 million, FY25)
- Translation and interpretation services for DOE students and families ($6 million FY25+).
In District 33 (Lincoln Restler), this funding will protect the following initiatives that serve 3,000 students annually:
- Preserve restorative justice programming at five high schools and five middle schools, including P.S./I.S. 157, M.S. 915 Bridges, Dock Street School for STEAM Studies, John Ericsson J.H.S 126, and M.S. 447.
- Sustain school social workers at P.S. 31, P.S. 34, P.S. 110, P.S. 38, P.S. 54, M.S. 915 Bridges, J.H.S 126, and two high schools.
- Maintain community schools that provide wrap-around supports at Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service, Brooklyn International High School, Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts, and Urban Assembly School of Music and Art.
- Continue Learning to Work vocational and internship programs at Brooklyn Frontiers High School, Brooklyn High School for Leadership and Community Service, and Downtown Brooklyn YABC.
