Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 3
Committee: Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education, chaired by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, held an oversight hearing on supporting multilingual learners and multilingual education in New York City early childhood programs, and discussed Resolution 650, sponsored by the chair, opposing a federally proposed head start rule change. Administration witnesses from the Mayor's Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education and NYC Public Schools described how emergent multilingual learners are identified and supported, the 99 dual language bilingual education program sites across the City, two newly opened 3-K dual language programs, and expansion and workforce plans. Council members asked about definitions and data, demand and wait lists, kindergarten continuity, funding allocations, and protections for student language data amid federal actions. Public witnesses, including the Independent Budget Office, City's First Readers, Literacy in Community, Early Starters, Children's Aid, Advocates for Children, and One World Project, largely supported Resolution 650 and urged greater investment in multilingual early childhood services. No legislation was voted on.
0:16 I think okay good afternoon
0:16 and welcome to today's hearing
0:23 on the subcommittee for early
0:25 childhood development at this
0:26 time I'd like to remind
0:26 everyone to silence all
0:30 electronic devices also at
0:30 this point going forward
0:31 knowing this approach today is
0:33 repeating no one is to
0:33 approach the dais if you would
0:35 like to sign up for in person
0:37 testimony please see one of
0:38 the sergeant at arms thank you n
0:44 thank you and good afternoon
0:47 everyone I'm councilmember
0:48 Jennifer Gutiérrez chair of
0:49 the subcommittee on early
0:51 childhood education and
0:52 welcome to today's hearing
0:54 double special welcome to the
0:56 incoming for our hearing today e
0:59 learners and early childhood
1:00 education programs New York
1:01 City is widely recognized as
1:03 the most linguistically
1:04 diverse City in the world
1:05 shout out to queens in New
1:07 York state the proportion of
1:09 multilingual young children is
1:10 higher than the national
1:12 average of 32% with
1:14 approximately 45% of young
1:16 children ages 0 2 5 in New
1:18 York identifying as multi
1:20 language learners access to
1:22 multilingual early childhood
1:23 education serves as a critical
1:25 cornerstone for both cognitive
1:26 development and social equity
1:27 nurturing children's home
1:29 languages develops their
1:29 positive sense of self and
1:31 cultural identity it also
1:33 maintains strong ties with
1:34 family and community and
1:35 supports young children social l
1:38 regulation research shows a
1:40 clear relationship between the
1:41 age of exposure to a language
1:43 and a child's success in
1:44 learning that language yet a
1:46 20 25 study of New York city's
1:48 pre kindergarten program found
1:49 that there are not nearly
1:51 enough designated bilingual
1:53 pre k programs available t
1:55 osupport the growing number of
1:57 multi language learners.
1:58 Last year president trump
1:59 issued an executive order
2:01 designating english as the
2:02 official language of the u s
2:05 and about a month ago his
2:06 administration released a
2:07 notice of proposed rule making y
2:11 instruction requirement in all
2:13 head start programs boo with
2:15 the persistent federal attacks
2:17 on multilingual services now
2:18 is the time for the City t
2:19 ostep up its commitment to all
2:20 of its residents in providing
2:22 these services including t
2:23 oour youngest learners so today
2:25 we'll ask the administration
2:26 how you are supporting
2:29 supporting how are you
2:29 supporting multilingual early
2:31 childhood education students
2:32 across our City are you
2:34 planning to expand
2:35 multilingual support as the
2:36 early childhood education
2:37 system grows how are you
2:39 informing multilingual
2:40 families about their early
2:42 childhood education options we
2:43 will also hear rezo 650
2:46 sponsored by myself opposing
2:47 the federal the opposing the
2:49 federally proposed rule change
2:51 titled reducing federal burden
2:53 for head start programs and
2:54 calling on the federal
2:56 government to prioritize
2:57 protecting and growing access
2:58 to high quality education for
3:00 young children I want to thank
3:01 the members of early childhood
3:03 education our subcommittee who
3:04 have joined us today council
3:07 member Rita Joseph and council
3:09 member sam Felder and online
3:13 Council Member oh it from your
3:19 mind's eye mind's eye
3:21 . And councilmember Kayla
3:22 santoso shout out to brooklyn
3:23 all here today thank you simca t
3:28 othank the staff of our
3:30 committee julia goldsmith pink
3:31 gum katie selina grace amato
3:34 and julin lawless and margaret
3:35 barnsley as well as my own
3:36 and are all going fella allow
3:41 for their work on today's
3:42 hearing and finally thank you
3:43 to everyone who's signed up t
3:45 otestify we look forward t
3:47 ohearing from you I would like
3:49 to be doing this part yes ok I
3:53 would sorry I want to remind
3:54 everyone who wishes to testify
3:56 in person today that you must
3:57 fill out a witness slip which
3:58 you can find on the desk of
4:00 the sergeant at arms near the
4:01 entrance of the room please
4:02 fill out the sleep the slip
4:03 even if you've already
4:05 registered in advance that you
4:06 will be testifying in person
4:07 today if you wish to testify
4:08 on any of the ledge please
4:10 indicate on the witness slip
4:11 whether you are here t
4:12 otestify in favor of or in
4:13 opposition I also want t
4:15 opoint out that we will not be
4:16 voting on any legislation
4:18 today to allow as many people
4:20 as possible to testify
4:22 testimony will be limited t
4:24 otwo minutes per person whether
4:24 you are testifying in person
4:25 or an them I'm also going t
4:27 oask my colleagues ah to limit
4:29 their questions and comments
4:32 to five minutes please note
4:32 that witnesses who are here in
4:34 person will testify before
4:35 those who are signed into the
4:37 zoom webinar and I'll now turn
4:39 it over to our early childhood
4:41 education subcommittee counsel
4:42 to administer the oath where
4:44 are those hello good afternoon
4:46 in accordance with the rules
4:48 of the council administer the
4:49 affirmation to the witnesses
4:51 from the mayoral demonstration h
4:53 individually for a a response
4:55 please raise your right hands
4:57 all please raise your right
4:59 hand thank you do you affirm
5:00 to tell the truth the whole
5:01 truth and nothing but the
5:02 truth before this committee
5:03 and respond honestly t
5:04 ocouncil member questions thank
5:07 you as a reminder to witnesses
5:08 and to the administration
5:10 please state your name prior
5:12 to your testimony for the
5:14 record thank you you now begin d
5:23 afternoon chair Gutiérrez and
5:24 members of the subcommittee on
5:26 early childhood education my
5:27 name is emmy list and I am the
5:29 executive director of the
5:29 mayor's office of child care
5:31 and early childhood education
5:33 I'm joined today by my
5:34 colleagues from New York City
5:35 public schools and we would
5:36 like to thank you for
5:37 convening this important
5:38 hearing and giving us the
5:39 opportunity to testify before
5:41 you the mamdani administration
5:42 is committed to a vision of
5:45 universal child a City in
5:46 which every child under fiv
5:47 ehas access to free high
5:49 quality early care and
5:50 education offered in a range
5:52 of culturally competent
5:54 settings with caregivers and
5:55 educators who are trained
5:56 respected and fairly
5:58 compensated supporting
5:59 multilingual learners is a
6:00 critical component of the
6:01 mayor's goal because we know
6:02 that child care cannot be
6:04 universal in one of the most
6:05 diverse cities in the world
6:08 unless we support multilingual
6:08 learners and providers all
6:12 children deserve access to
6:13 rich early learning
6:14 environments that honor and
6:15 celebrate their heritage and
6:16 support their growth no matter
6:17 what language they speak at
6:19 home we are also blessed as a
6:20 City with thousands of early
6:22 childhood educators who speak
6:22 languages other than english
6:23 in their classrooms and
6:25 programs allowing children of
6:26 all backgrounds to feel a
6:27 sense of belonging and t
6:29 othrive
6:29 . Creating early childhood
6:31 education environments that
6:32 support and encourage
6:33 multilingual learning benefits s
6:35 from research and evidence I
6:37 also share this from
6:38 experience last year my son
6:40 was enrolled in one of the
6:41 city's pre k dual language
6:43 programs as a child coming
6:44 from an english speaking home
6:45 he had a chance to learn with
6:47 and from his peers who came
6:48 from spanish speaking homes I
6:50 saw the ways in which the
6:52 children learned from each
6:52 other and saw each other's
6:53 language skills as an asset
6:54 and a strength all of the
6:56 parents in the classroom were
6:58 able to engage with the
6:59 educators and with the day to
7:01 day lessons regardless of
7:02 which language we spoke at
7:04 home I know the benefits that
7:05 I saw are not unique to my
7:07 son's experience alone and
7:08 represent what many families
7:10 and educators experience every
7:12 day.
7:12 Together with our partners
7:13 at the New York City public
7:15 schools division of early
7:16 childhood education the Mayor
7:18 office of child care and early
7:19 childhood education has been
7:21 working closely on a number of
7:23 initiatives and programs
7:24 toward the goal of delivering
7:25 free high quality care and
7:26 education for every child
7:27 under five in New York City I
7:29 am thrilled to introduce my
7:31 newest colleague philips who
7:32 recently joined the division
7:33 as the New deputy chancellor
7:35 for early childhood education
7:37 deputy chancellor philip
7:38 brings decades of experience
7:39 in early childhood education
7:40 and has worked closely with
7:41 child care providers who are
7:42 serving multilingual children
7:45 she will now sear more
7:46 background on the work that
7:47 the division of early
7:48 childhood education is doing
7:50 to support multilingual
7:51 learners and we look forward
7:52 to them taking your questions
7:55 thank you thank you and good
7:57 afternoon chair Gutiérrez and
7:58 members of the subcommittee on
8:01 early childhood education my
8:01 name is Eric phillips and I
8:03 serve as the deputy chancellor
8:04 for early childhood education
8:05 at New York City public
8:07 schools I am joined today by
8:09 dr georgette branch chief of
8:10 learning and partnerships dr
8:12 brenda garcia chief of the
8:13 office of multi lingual
8:15 learners and dr arabella l
8:18 pembroke senior director of
8:20 inclusion and support for
8:21 emergent multi lingual
8:22 learners thank you for the
8:23 opportunity to be here.
8:24 And for your continued
8:26 partnership in supporting New
8:27 York city's youngest learners
8:28 I come to this role with more
8:29 than 20 years of experience
8:31 across early childhood and k
8:33 through 12 education business
8:34 and nonprofit leadership much
8:36 of my career is focused on
8:37 building systems that support
8:39 young children and families
8:41 while assisting the educators
8:42 and caregivers who serve them
8:45 before joining New York City
8:46 public schools I served as the
8:48 executive director of the
8:49 national association for
8:51 family childcare where I
8:52 worked at the federal level t
8:54 ostrengthen early learning
8:55 programs advanced child care
8:57 policies and elevate the
8:58 voices of the early educators
9:00 and providers who have served
9:01 as the backbone of the early
9:04 childhood system previously I
9:05 spent eight years at al arkin
9:07 in early childhood
9:09 organization focused on
9:10 supporting home based
9:11 childcare care providers where
9:12 I helped to bring its family
9:14 network to New York City this
9:16 work is deeply personal to me
9:18 as the daughter and
9:19 granddaughter of early
9:21 educators and caregivers
9:22 . I am honored to bring those
9:23 experiences to New York City
9:24 public schools and to lead our
9:26 work to strengthen early care
9:27 and education for children and
9:28 families across New York City
9:30 thank you for the opportunity
9:31 to discuss how we support
9:32 emergent multi lingual
9:34 children and families across
9:36 early childhood programs in
9:37 New York City as well as our
9:39 early childhood dual language
9:40 bilingual education program
9:41 New York city's children enter
9:43 our early childhood programs
9:45 with tremendous linguistic and
9:47 cultural assets across our
9:48 early childhood system
9:50 children be learning english
9:51 while also developing one of
9:53 the many other languages
9:54 spoken by New York City
9:56 families are responsibility is
9:57 to build an early childhood
9:58 system that recognizes those
10:01 languages as strengths
10:02 provides children with
10:04 developmentally appropriate
10:04 opportunities to learn across
10:06 languages and ensures that
10:07 families have meaningful
10:08 access to their children's
10:11 education the process for
10:13 identifying emergent multi
10:14 lingual in early early differs
10:16 from the process used t
10:18 oidentify english language
10:18 learners in k through 1
10:21 2schools under commissioner's
10:22 regulation part 1 50.
10:23 Four k through 12 schools
10:25 follow a formal process for
10:27 identifying english language
10:29 learners including the home
10:31 language questionnaire and an
10:32 individual interview when
10:34 appropriate and the New York
10:36 state identification test for
10:37 elanguage proficiencyners n
10:43 assessment
10:43 . Those requirements do not
10:44 apply in the same way in early
10:46 childhood settings where
10:47 children are identified as
10:49 emergent multilingual learners
10:51 based on information families
10:52 provide about their child's
10:54 language background and
10:55 experiences New York state
10:56 uses the emergent multilingual
10:59 learner language profile a
11:02 family completed survey
11:03 available in 24 languages that
11:05 asks which languages are
11:06 spoken by parents and
11:07 caregivers which language is
11:08 the child understands and uses
11:10 in the family's preferred
11:11 language for program
11:14 communication.
11:14 The purpose is not t
11:16 omeasure english proficiency
11:17 but to identify children whose
11:18 home are primary language is
11:20 other than english to help
11:23 programs plan linguistically
11:24 responsive instruction and
11:25 supports across early trotted
11:28 settings multilingualism is
11:29 treated as an asset all
11:31 programs are required t
11:33 osupport multilingual learners
11:34 by using developmentally
11:37 appropriate practices such as
11:38 visual aids modeling
11:40 intentional vocabulary
11:42 development home language
11:44 connections family
11:45 partnerships and culturally
11:46 and linguistic responsive
11:48 instruction.
11:48 The goal is to enable all
11:50 children to fully participate
11:51 in learning.
11:51 While also developing
11:54 english
11:54 . Emergent multi lingual
11:55 learners across early
11:56 childhood settings experience
11:59 language culturally and
12:00 linguistic responsive learning
12:03 experiences our emergent
12:04 multilingual guidance as well
12:06 as ongoing City professional
12:09 learning supports educators
12:09 with instructional strategies.
12:12 Those include using
12:13 children's home languages and
12:16 linguistic strengths visuals
12:18 and real objects gestures
12:22 intentional vocabulary