Working families could now breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to having access to childcare beyond the traditional school year schedule.
Most 2-K seats starting this fall will be full-day and on a full-year schedule, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday.
The mayor said it is a step toward his goal of universal childcare and taking into consideration the reality that working families face.
“For many families working 9 to 5, an 8 to 3 program isn’t going to cut it. For too long, parents have been forced to choose between their livelihood and their children, or to drain their savings just to make it through the workday. That ends now,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Universal child care must meet the real lives of working people. That begins with full-year, full-day 2-K.”
According to Mamdani’s office, the majority of the first 2,000 2-K seats available this fall will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 260 days a year. This schedule will replace the traditional 180-day school calendar. However, the City notes that early childcare providers may still offer a 2-K program that is aligned to the school calendar, and full-day and full-year care is not a requirement for a family to accept a seat.
“New York City Public Schools have always been the backbone of our communities, and 2-K is our opportunity to support families even earlier in their child’s life,” NYC Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels said, adding that this new plan will “build an early child care and education system that is truly universal, equitable, and tailored around the real needs of the families we serve.”
In January, Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an ambitious plan to bring free child care to 2-year-olds across the five boroughs. Services will begin in September 2026, with rolling enrollment throughout the fall to accommodate children turning two at different points in the year.
Hochul, a moderate who is up for reelection this year, has been politically aligned with the city’s new progressive mayor on his plan to offer free childcare in the city, though questions remain on how the program could take shape and what it might cost over the long term.
Additionally, Hochul rolled out a sweeping, longer-term proposal to expand access to universal pre-K statewide, with the goal of having the program available throughout New York by the start of the 2028-2029 school year.
She reiterated that commitment in March.
“This is something I believe in my core,” Hochul said. “There’s no way I could walk away from a commitment to these beautiful little children — not now, not ever.”
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