July 14, 2026 - The Ocean Avenue News - oceanavenuenews.com

Five special education programs will expand into the city’s pre-K classrooms for the first this fall, city officials announced on Tuesday.

Through a $67.5 million investment, the expansion will make available the city’s Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES programs in 14 school districts across the five boroughs.

“Making pre-K truly universal means that no family has to go without just because their child needs a little extra help. And it means that having an Individualized Education Plan [IEP] does not deny your child the same opportunities as their peers to get a strong start in life,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a July 14 press conference announcing the investment in Manhattan.

The expansion will help students with autism and developmental delays can attend school closer to their homes.

“It will bring new pre-school specialized education programs to families in every single borough,” the mayor said.

New Pre-K special education programs aim to help more kids be successful

Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said the five programs are popular and highly effective in improving student success.

“I am proud that right here in NYC public schools, we lead the nation in providing autistic learners with 97% of our Nest and Horizon students ultimately graduating high school,” Samuels said. “In our AIMS programs, our students with intensive communication needs are excited to come to school and boast much higher attendance rates when in community schools.”

The chancellor explained that ACES programs were initially launched as a direct response to families advocating for their children with significant intellectual disabilities to learn critical life skills alongside their peers in an inclusive school setting.

“Today, families are proud to share that their children are thriving and building meaningful with peers without disabilities as well,” Samuels said.

Meanwhile, Samuels said parents have seen “tremendous growth” from the Path program, which provides intensive social, emotional, and behavioral support for students with disabilities in specialized classrooms.

Samuels also said the multi-million-dollar investment will give younger children with autism and other disabilities the same “high-quality, specialized instruction that has delivered real results” for 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,” Samuels said.

The programs will be held in both inclusive and specialized classroom settings, officials said.

Programs will be held in the following school districts:

Manhattan

District 2: PS 042 Benjamin Altman
District 5: PS 133 Fred R. Moore
District 6: PS 005 Ellen Lurie

Bronx

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

Brooklyn

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

Queens

District 30: P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School, P.S. 171 Peter G. Van Alst

Staten Island

District 31: P.S. 054 Charles W. Leng