New York City’s next budget will provide $1,000 college savings accounts to every public school kindergartner, expanding the NYC Kids RISE program and creating what city leaders say will be the nation’s largest universal college savings initiative.

How will students benefit from the $1,000 college savings accounts?

The $53 million investment increases the city’s contribution from $100 to $1,000 per child, a tenfold expansion of the existing program. The funding is part of the city’s $125.8 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget agreement announced Tuesday between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council. The initiative is intended to help families build wealth, expand access to higher education and increase future earnings for current students, according to the New York Daily News and Chalkbeat New York.

Under the program, public school kindergartners will automatically receive a college savings account unless their families choose to opt out. The funds will be deposited into a 529 plan that can be used for expenses at four-year colleges, community colleges and vocational schools. Families, businesses and community organizations can also contribute to the accounts through community scholarships, per the New York Daily News.

Council Speaker Julie Menin, who helped launch NYC Kids RISE more than a decade ago while serving as the city’s consumer affairs commissioner, called the expansion a long-term investment in students and their futures.

“This will be the nation’s largest universal college savings program, and the impact of a college savings account lasts long after students receive their diploma,” Menin said during a news conference about the budget agreement, per the New York Daily News.

Council Speaker Julie Menin said the program will help combat ‘income inequality’

The City Council had initially proposed depositing $3,000 into accounts for children from low-income families. The final budget instead provides $1,000 to every public school kindergartner, regardless of household income.

Menin said the program is also an investment in the city’s long-term economic future, citing research showing that people who pursue education beyond high school earn significantly more over their lifetimes.

“This is simply one of the most effective ways we can truly address income inequality,” Menin said. “So we are not simply investing in the future of our children, but also in the future of our great city.”

Several other New York programs were saved under the budget deal

Mamdani said the spending plan reflects the city’s priorities while preserving key services for New Yorkers.

“Above all else, this budget offers a roadmap for the years to come,” he said in a statement obtained by Chalkbeat New York.

The budget agreement also restores several education programs that were left out of Mamdani’s preliminary proposal, including school-based mental health services, support for students with disabilities who have sensory needs, restorative justice initiatives, outreach to immigrant families and student success centers that help high school students navigate the college admissions process.

“These programs are currently benefiting thousands of students and families, and we thank the Mamdani administration and the City Council for ensuring these critical programs will continue for another year,” the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding, which includes more than 120 advocacy organizations, said, according to Chalkbeat New York.