We thank the New York City Council’s Subcommittee on Early Education for proactively holding this oversight hearing on the path to universal child care. INCLUDEnyc is the leading source of training and information for young people ages 0-26 with known or suspected disabilities, their parents, and the professionals who support them. For over 40 years, we have helped New York City families navigate the complex special education and support systems.
While we commend the City for its continued efforts to provide children under the age of 5 with disabilities with equitable access to early child care and quality 3-K and Pre-K education services, the fact is that the City has historically failed to do so, despite its good intentions. Year after year, thousands of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities are denied access to day care, 3-K, and Pre-K programs. And thousands more each year do not receive all the services mandated in their Individualized Education Programs (IEP).
Many childcare settings are not fully equipped or trained for inclusive practices, limiting the participation of children with developmental or behavioral needs. There is also a persistent shortage of preschool special education seats. Despite recent funding boosts, hundreds of preschoolers with disabilities remain on waitlists or are “sitting at home” because appropriate placements in integrated or specialized settings are unavailable.
The system struggles to retain qualified special education teachers and related services providers. Low wages for early childhood educators, often near poverty levels, contribute to high turnover, leaving many mandated positions vacant and making it harder for the City to recruit and retain personnel who can provide specialized care. Also, there are significant disparities in service availability across neighborhoods, with providers sometimes hesitant to work in certain areas.
Many standard childcare programs have restrictive enrollment policies or requirements, such as requiring children to be toilet-trained by age 3, which automatically disqualifies some children with developmental delays. Or are located in buildings that are not physically accessible. Finding information about a program’s specific accessibility features or disability supports is often difficult for parents.
Most universal programs (3-K and Pre-K) run only from 8 am to 2 pm during the school year and do not offer full-time care, or may not align with the needs of working parents, making it even harder for parents of children with disabilities to secure reliable, long-term care for their children in need of specialized support. The lack of adequate specialized early childhood care translates into a multifaceted crisis for families. This systemic gap often leads to severe economic hardship and chronic emotional strain, with parents of children with disabilities being three times more likely to face employment setbacks compared to their peers.
To achieve a truly universal and equitable early childhood system in NYC, the City must embed disability inclusion into its foundational infrastructure. This requires mandating inclusive practices in all provider contracts, investing in specialized staff training, and ensuring full physical accessibility across all sites. Success depends on increased funding for extended-day and specialized programming, alongside proactive measures to solve staff shortages and create a more intuitive, inclusive enrollment experience. The City also needs more extended-day programs and additional funding to replicate pilot programs such as School Day Year Plus, so that all families have the option of enrolling their children in before- and after-care programs that provide additional hours of child care before and after traditional programs. As a result, we fully support this committee and Council in advancing all proposed bills today and highlight the need for the City to specifically target parents of children with suspected or known disabilities in all related outreach campaigns to enroll students in 2-Care, 3K, and Pre-K. In this way, they know their children will be welcomed and have the opportunity to participate in these programs too.
Thank you for taking the time to consider these important matters. We look forward to partnering with you to improve equity and access for all students with disabilities in New York City.
Respectfully submitted,
Lori Podvesker
Director of Disability and Education Policy
INCLUDEnyc