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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 between January 10 – March 1,2024 for the 2024-2025 school year.
  • In New York City, you can apply to 3-K in the calendar year that your child turns three.
  • 3-K programs are offered throughout NYC.
    • Use MySchools to search for and learn about 3-K options.
    • 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 different settings. Each setting offers a consistent DOE high-quality, play-based curriculum.

2. Determine your eligibility

All New York City families with children born in 2021 can enroll for the 2024-2025 school year. This includes children with disabilities or who are learning English.

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 between January 10 – March 1, 2024. 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

Apply in person

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 [email protected] if you have questions.

Call 311

Ask about “3-K”

Last Updated January 23, 2024

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