NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program

What is the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program?

The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a scholarship and savings program designed to make college and career training more accessible for all NYC public school students— regardless of family income or immigration status.

In partnership with our nonprofit partner, NYC Kids RISE, through the Save for College Program, every kindergarten student enrolled in a participating NYC public school automatically receives a NYC Scholarship Account with an initial $100 allocation on their behalf, unless their parents/guardians “opt out” of the program.

The Save for College Program began as a pilot in 2017 in the geography of Community School District 30, and now 96% of all eligible students (~13,500 first through fourth graders) in pilot schools have a NYC Scholarship Account with financial assets for their educational futures. Visit the Save for College Program Pilot website to learn more about the pilot phase of the Save for College Program.

As part of the 2021 Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan, the City announced the expansion of the Save for College Program to all kindergarten students enrolled in NYC Public Schools (including participating charter schools) starting September 2021.

What is the NYC Scholarship Account?

Once a student is enrolled in the Save for College program, NYC Kids RISE will create an NYC Scholarship Account and automatically allocate $100 toward the student’s educational future. Over time, NYC Kids RISE will offer opportunities for families to earn more money for their student’s NYC Scholarship Account. Community organizations, businesses and others can also add to the scholarship accounts through Community Scholarships to help students reach their college and career goals.

NYC Kids RISE, a nonprofit organization, owns and manages the scholarship funds on behalf of participating students, and invests the funds in New York's 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan, a type of investment account specifically designed to help save for higher education.

How is the NYC Scholarship Account created?

NYC Kids RISE will create an NYC Scholarship Account in each student’s name after they receive information from the DOE about each participating student and their parent/guardian(s).

What information will be shared if a family wants their student to receive an NYC Scholarship Account? 

The DOE will only share what is known as “Directory Information” about students and their parents/guardians.

Directory Information for Students Includes:

• A student identification number unique to the program
• Full name
• Birthdate
• Home address
• Whether the home address changes
• Home phone number
• School name
• Current grade level
• Language(s) spoken at home
• Transfers made to other schools, if any, both inside and outside the NYC public school system

Directory Information for Parents Includes:

• Parent identification numbers unique to the program
• Full name
• Email address
• Cell and/or other phone number

Who gets the Directory Information?

NYC Kids RISE and VistaShare, a data management company.

How can NYC Kids RISE and VistaShare use it?

They are only allowed to use or share Directory Information to run and evaluate their program. Neither organization is allowed to sell, use, or share the Directory Information for advertising, marketing, or other commercial purposes. In fact, they need our approval before sharing Directory Information with anyone else.

What rules are there about sharing student information?

A federal law called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevents the DOE from sharing a student’s personally identifiable information without permission from a parent or guardian. However, unless parents/guardians tell us not to, the DOE can share Directory Information about them and their student.

If you are looking for opt out information, please continue to the “How do parents/guardians opt out of the program and what is the school's role?” section.

What do parents/guardians have to do to receive an NYC Scholarship Account for their student?

Parents/guardians do not have to do anything to receive an NYC Scholarship Account. If the student is in one of the participating schools and grades they will automatically be enrolled and receive an NYC Scholarship Account. Each NYC Scholarship Account comes with an initial $100 allocation from NYC Kids RISE. Parents/guardians do not have to provide any money of their own to get this account.

Can a student receive funds from NYC Kids RISE and not share their information?

Unfortunately, no. NYC Kids RISE and VistaShare need that information to create and allocate funds to NYC Scholarship Accounts for participating students.

How do parents/guardians opt out of the NYC Scholarship Account and what is the school's role?

As of the 2023–24 school year, all DOE kindergarten students are eligible to join the Save for College Program and receive an allocation of $100 in an NYC Scholarship Account; all schools with kindergarten, first, and/or second grade classes are required to ensure families are aware of the program. Share the Introductory Video, Program Basics, and Program FAQ with kindergarten and new first grade families as a part of the launch of the school year.

Parents/guardians have the opportunity to opt out of receiving an NYC Scholarship Account. The opt out date may differ between students and is based on when the student was enrolled in school. The opt out process will begin in November for the 2023–24 school year. You will receive more information about opt-out letters and processes in the coming weeks.

After the opt-out process starts in November 2023, parents/guardians who wish to change their child’s participation status by opting-out have two options:

1. Parents can change their child’s participation status within the NYC Schools Account. This is the preferred way for parents to opt out, re-enroll or cancel. After logging in to NYCSA, the parent should look at the main screen with all of the tiles. The parent can click on the “Postsecondary Planning'' tile, then click on the button on the next page that says “NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program.” After this they can review program information and will have relevant options available towards the bottom of the page.
2. Parents can return a signed opt-out form to their child’s school for data entry into ATS within a defined 30-day period. The deadline will be printed on the opt-out form. See below for more details. 

Guidance for School staff: After November 2, 2023, expect personalized opt-out notices and forms to automatically print at your school via ATS. This will occur as new students become eligible for the program during the school year. Please ensure families of new students receive these letters and share the Introductory Video, Program Basics, and Program FAQ with them promptly. Multilingual versions of these educational materials can be found on the NYC Kids RISE website under downloadable resources.

If you ever need to reprint an opt-out form, please visit the ATS Wiki page for detailed guidance.

Additionally, note the following information:

• Paper Opt-Out and Participation Status Change Forms returned to the school must be logged into ATS and stored in the student’s cumulative folder.
• The supporting professional learning content is available via WeLearnNYC. Please review this session and supporting materials for detailed guidance on these important processes.
• For more resources to share with families, including FAQ documents, a program one-pager and more please visit the NYC Kids RISE Downloadable Materials and NYC Kids RISE Videos webpages.
• For questions, email savingtogether@schools.nyc.gov.

What if a family wants to change their student’s participation after their opt-out period?

After a student’s opt-out period ends, parents can still choose to cancel or re-enroll their student in the program. We can think of these actions broadly as changing the child’s participation status.

If the opt-out period has ended, a parent who wants to change their student’s participation status has two options:

1. Make the change within the NYC Schools Account. This is the preferred way for parents to opt out, re-enroll or cancel. After logging in to NYCSA, the parent would:
   1. Look at the main screen with all of the tiles
   2. Click on the “Postsecondary Planning” tile
   3. Click on the button on the next page that says “NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program
   4. Review program information and
   5. Choose from the relevant options available towards the bottom of the page.

Or

2. Parents who do not use NYC Schools Account can complete and return a signed Participation Status Change form (available below). If a custodial parent signs and returns one of these forms, the action should be logged within ATS as described within this ATS Wiki page. 

When will the NYC Scholarship Accounts be available?

NYC Kids RISE will notify schools and families when their students’ accounts are available to be viewed and activated. Schools will be receiving additional information in the coming weeks on additional professional learning opportunities around the Save for College Program, including how to help families view and activate accounts and how to implement Spring Semester Milestone Events. Participating families will receive a Welcome Email and Welcome Kit via postal mail with instructions and information once their accounts are ready to be activated and viewed.

I have a question that hasn’t been answered. Where can I find more information?

More guidance and communications will be available in the coming weeks on this page, via modules on WeLearnNYC and through your school leaders.

Email savingtogether@schools.nyc.gov with questions.

Our partners NYC Kids RISE also have a set of tools and resources to support school partners in educating and working with families to understand the program. Please visit the Schools Partners page of the NYC Kids RISE website to access these resources.

Call NYC Kids RISE at 833-543-7473 or email them at info@nyckidsrise.org if you have questions about:

• The types of investments the account uses
• Matching money
• Qualification
• Other program-related questions