New York City public schools are expanding active shooter training to pre-K, 3-K and other early childhood programs, Department of Education officials said Wednesday.

Schools Chancellor David Banks announced the new prep for staffers taking care of the Big Apple’s learners under 5 during a press conference in Queens ahead of back-to-school on Thursday.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be in a place where even early childhood providers — those who are working with our babies — have to receive a level of training to be prepared for the potential of an active shooter in the facility,” he said at Martin Van Buren High School.

Banks cited horrific incidents across the country — including the mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school last spring.

“That is the reality that we are facing,” he told reporters. “We have to make sure that we’re doing everything that we can possibly do to be as ready as we can provide a level of safety for all.”

Parents and educators had mixed reviews about expanding the training to programs serving the city’s youngest students. 

“I think it’s wise for all schools to train their teachers to be prepared for any kind of event — especially if a school doesn’t have sufficient security,” said West Village mom Tara Murphy, who also formerly taught that age group.

“Although they are scary and disturbing to even fathom happening, as a teacher I felt empowered to know that we had a plan in place. As a parent of young kids, I want to know that my kids’ teachers also feel secure in their plan,” she said. 

Murphy added, though, that schools need to be sensitive not to “trigger” kids’ anxiety, especially after the pandemic.

An executive director at a child care center in The Bronx, speaking anonymously without DOE permission, completed the training over the summer and told The Post it was “productive” — but said other discrepancies in school safety “need to be addressed.”

“One of the concerns I’ve always had is center-based — unlike school-based — programs are not assigned school safety officers,” said the director.

“So when we talk about the safety of all the students and families, it’s best that the centers would also have access to the same level and security as a school would,” she added.

The DOE also officially unveiled new school safety measures that’ll start in the fall, which were first reported by The Post last month.

More safety agents will be added throughout the school year, including three new classes beginning training this month, as well as in January and May. Altogether, roughly 600 agents may be added over the term.

Families will also have access to real-time push notifications in the event of lockdowns, shelter-ins and evacuations.

“Many of you will recall what happened in Sunset Park,” said Banks, referring to the subway shooting last spring that prompted shelter-in-place orders at nearby schools. “And when that incident happened, the schools that were located near the incident were frantic. The parents of the children in those schools were frantic. And many of them had to wait to hear what was going on on the news.”

“We want to put them in a position where they don’t have to wait for the local news to know exactly what’s going on,” he added.

The messaging platform is the same technology that was introduced to replace Illuminate Education products — the company at the center of a student data breach last school year.

School facilities workers are also inspecting 1,400 buildings to ensure all safety systems are functional — from door locks to alarms and PA systems. The team identified 1,300 issues across the schools and expects all will be addressed before students return to school on Thursday.

Banks told reporters that officials are in “very close contact” with companies developing technology that is less intrusive but able to detect guns and other types of weapons.

“Maybe this is the year where we finally come to a place where that technology is fully developed, and we’ll be able to make that kind of investment,” he said.

The DOE has also made investments in student well-being, in hopes that students who are “fully emotionally supported” are less likely to get into trouble.

Officials pointed to a new initiative contracting with previously volunteer violence interrupters in close to 140 high-needs schools, to be announced in “coming days” — while central staffers will be reassigned to district offices to bring social workers closer to students and families.