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Child Care

Early education for three-year-olds

3-K | NYC Department of Education (DOE)

1. How it Works

3-K provides free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education for three-year-olds.

  • Apply to 3-K for the 2023-2024 school year by March 10, 2023.
  • In New York City, you can apply to 3-K in the calendar year that your child turns three.
  • 3-K programs will be offered in 32 districts in Fall 2023.
    • Find your school district by using the School Search map tool or calling 311.
    • You can apply to any school district across the city.
    • Your child has priority to attend 3-K programs in the district where you live.
  • Children can enroll in Full Day, Extended Day and Year, and Head Start seat types. Learn more.
  • 3-K programs are offered throughout the five boroughs in four settings. Each setting offers a consistent DOE high-quality, play-based curriculum. Settings might be:
    • select public elementary schools
    • Pre-K centers run by NYCDOE staff
    • community-based organizations (CBOs)
    • home-based family child care centers

2. Determine your eligibility

All New York City families with children born in 2020 can enroll for the 2023-2024 school year.

Children with disabilities or who are learning English can attend 3-K.

Children do not need to be toilet trained to attend 3-K.

Take a short survey to see if you might be eligible for this or 30 other programs.

Am I Eligible?

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3. How to Apply

3. How to apply

Here are your options.

Apply online

Apply on MySchools by March 10, 2023. You can apply in English, Arabic, Bengali/Bangla, Chinese, Haitian Creole, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, or Urdu.

After you apply, you can make changes to your application before the deadline.

Apply for 3-K

Apply by phone

Come back to it later.
We can send you a link to this page to help you get back to it when you’re ready.

More ways to get help with this program

Visit the website

Visit the 3-K website to find out more information.

Email 3-K admissions

Email 3-K admissions at Esenrollment@schools.nyc.gov if you have questions about 3-K.

Call 311

Ask for “3-K for All”.

Last Updated March 14, 2023

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