About 70,000 kindergarteners in New York City were the first in the nation to receive baby bonds meant to help close the generational wealth gap.
Every kindergarten student in the five boroughs will have a 529 college savings account set up with a minimum of $100 as the city invests in its children's future. Starting this year, all kindergarten children enrolled in a public school will have access to the scholarship account.
In addition to the $100 for their future education, they can receive up to $200 in rewards.
The historic expansion of this program now reaches approximately 70,000 kindergarten students citywide, up from the more than 13,000 students already participating in the program in School District 30 in Queens. The initiative was announced earlier this year as part of the New York City Economic Justice Plan.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The mayor and NYC School Chancellor Meisha Porter met with some of the program's beneficiaries on Wednesday.
"If we want to change outcomes in our community. It has to start by investing in our most precious, precious commodity and that's our children," Porter told reporters.
