Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Universal pre-K in New York

Bill de Blasio, the new mayor of New York City, campaigned on universal pre-school for 4-year-olds, and the governor of New York has proposed it statewide. Someone should point out that there are gifted children who are ready for kindergarten before
age five. One roadblock to early kindergarten for the gifted may be the feeling that it is unfair for the state to fund education for some 4yo children but not others. This objection has less force if all 4-year-olds have access to some government-funded schooling, whether or not it is kindergarten.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/nyregion/cuomo-prekindergarten-proposal.html
Cuomo Expected to Unveil $1.5 Billion Plan to Expand Pre-K Statewide
By SUSANNE CRAIG and THOMAS KAPLAN
New York Times
JAN. 21, 2014

Is this preK program like the one here in CA they started a few years back and only available to some 4 year olds? California changed it's kindergarten cutoff to be more in line with the rest of the country. For years it was Dec 2nd, but after 3 year transition next year it will be Sept 1. The CA preK (Transitional K) program is only offered to 4 year olds who turn 5 between Sep 1 & Dec 2nd. http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/kinderfaq.asp#E2

I know New York is/was? a state that with a similar Dec/Jan K cutoff. This article doesn't really describe the program.

In California this new preK wouldn't really change much. K is not required, and thus preK program is not required. By state law you HAVE to go to school by 1st grade. (Or show you are homeschooled.) The new preK program does not affect the age cutoffs for 1st grade. The only way around the cutoff's taht I know of is to put a child in private school till 2nd grade and then transfer OR start them at their "age" and convince the school to skip.

Special needs kids are also already entitled to full day, pre-k in NYC. When we were living in NYC, my son was 4 yrs old and in a full day pre-k, integrated special needs program. It was the only way I could get him pt/ot/speech. I would not have put my son into this pre-k program if I could get the services elsewhere but I had to obtain a lawyer, spend tons of money, and fight the NYC Board of Ed for it.

So though my son is 2e, which we didn't know at the time, he got a free pre-k education as being a special needs student. My son therefore did have full access to government-funded schooling when others did not, which is an inequitable system. We left NYC when he was in pre-k to avoid the 2e issues with kindy and elementary school, which is a complete shambles and disgrace imo. There's little for 2e kids in NYC.

In NYC, it goes by calendar year - unless things have changed within the last couple of years.

Federal law covers special needs students with education; it doesn't cover giftedness. There is NO federal mandate for giftedness. There is a federal mandate for disabilities with the ADA. Some states offer g/t but others do not.

Did an online search and answered my own question the NYC program is nothing like the CA program. It enrolls kids even younger since it seems NYC still has it's Dec 31st cutoff. You can start K if you are 4 yrs & 9 months.. Thus the preK program would start kids at 3 yrs & 9 months. It seems that the preK program already exists but isn't universal. (Available to anyone who wants it.)

And from what I can tell NYC is even more insistent that many other district that a student be in the grade they are assigned by birthday. On the other hand NYC has public gifted magnet schools even for elementary kids. That is if you can manage to get your child in.