New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took to social media to urge parents in the city to enroll their 3- to 4-year-olds in free Pre-K and 3-K programs before the Feb. 27 application deadline.
In one of the posts, Mamdani is seen gleefully trying and failing to read a sentence in Spanish, urging parents to enroll their children in universal Pre-K in NYC.
“Learning a second language can be hard. Signing up for Pre-K and 3-K is easy.
Go to and sign up today. The deadline is midnight tomorrow!” read the title of the post.
Another video posted on the Mayor’s X account showed Mamdani joining a group of young students to encourage New Yorkers to sign up for Pre-K and 3-K.
What are the 3-K and Pre-K programs in NYC
The 3-K and Pre-K programs are free, high-quality, play-based early learning for children ages 3 and 4 in 2026-2027. They provide 6 hours and 20 minutes of care and learning during the school year.
Who can apply?
3-K – children born in 2023
Pre-K – children born in 2022
The application deadline for free Pre-K and 3-K programs in NYC ends at midnight on February 27th. The Pre-K and 3-K programs are open to all New Yorkers regardless of income or immigration status.
MySchools.nyc allows applicants to apply in English, Albanian, Arabic, Bengali/Bangli, Chinese, Haitian Creole, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Uzbek.
Applications are not first-come, first-served and all families who apply by February 27th will receive an offer in May.
According to NYC Public Schools, Pre-K offers are expected on May 12, 2026 and 3-K offers are expected on May 19, 2026.
What students will gain
The New York City 3-K and Pre-K programs also provide free breakfast and lunch for every student. These meals are part of the city’s universal free school lunch program and follow strict nutritional standards tailored to early childhood development.
NYC offers several early childhood education settings:
3-K programs are offered at the following locations:
District Schools: Programs located within public elementary schools and under the supervision of the school principal.
NYCEECs: Community organizations that contract directly with the DOE.
Pre-K Centers: These programs are designed exclusively for 3-K and Pre-K students. They are run and operated by DOE employees.
Family Childcare: These programs are placed in a home setting by a licensed, qualified child care provider. 3-K students are served by mixed age groups. Students can sign up for Family Day Care (six children with one provider, maximum of two children under 24 months) or Group Family Day Care (12 children with one provider and one assistant, maximum of four children under 24 months).
In addition to the Pre-K and 3-K programs, NYC also recently announced the launch of the Universal 2-K program, which will begin offering free child care for two-year-olds in September 2026.
