Hochul aims to make pre-kindergarten universal in NYS, but advocates say they may need more help

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to increase access to universal pre-kindergarten would send millions of dollars to school districts across New York and require every district to have a full-day program for 4-year-olds by the 2028-29 school year.

Lawmakers, education leaders and advocates say it's a "step in the right direction."

They also fear it may not be enough to make pre-kindergarten truly universal.

The Democrat’s $260 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 boosts spending on child care and pre-kindergarten by $1.7 billion — allocating $10,000 per pupil to school districts to expand current prekindergarten programs or start new ones.

The executive budget, if approved by the State Legislature, would require every school district to have enough seats for all eligible primarily 4-year-olds whose parents apply by 2028-29. Programs can be located in a school building, or districts can partner with a community-based organization to run the program.

After years of sporadic funding, lawmakers, education leaders and advocates applauded the proposed increase in aid, which could be used largely for instruction. But more money may be necessary to address the need for additional space, transportation and qualified staff, they told Newsday.

“This actually is pretty generous and pretty far reaching,” said Brian Cechnicki, executive director of the Association of School Business Officials of New York. “It may not be fully sufficient to get to the full universal goal that everybody wants, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Education advocates and lawmakers expressed concern that the mandate could become an issue if underfunded and become a burden local taxpayers would have to shoulder, particularly in high-wealth but expensive areas like on Long Island that typically receive less state aid under the school aid formula. The formula assumes districts in high-wealth areas are able to raise a local share primarily through taxes, which isn't always the case given the state's 2% cap on property tax increases.

Statewide, 624 of the 673 school districts have some form of prekindergarten program, also known as pre-K, according to the State Education Department. In Nassau County, 51 of 56 districts have programs and in Suffolk County 59 of 65 have programs, according to the department. Some programs are half day and others have a finite number of seats, relying on a lottery system to select students.

Hochul’s proposal also would increase access to 3-K for 3-year-olds in New York City and launch a program for 2-year-olds, helping to fulfill a campaign promise for Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a Democrat and prized political ally who could help boost election turnout. Hochul is running for re-election in November.

Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-Malverne) questioned the political motive and called for balance. “We don’t want to be paying for something that is only going to be benefiting New York City residents and not residents outside of the city because everybody is struggling,” she said.

And pre-K funding is complex, she said. “If we are going to mandate things then we need to figure out how to pay for it.”

Here’s what to know:

Pre-K benefits

Research has shown that pre-K programs can help prepare children for kindergarten and help them have greater success in their school career, making them more likely to graduate high school, graduate college and get high-paying jobs, said Marina Marcou-O’Malley, co-executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, an advocacy group. “The return on investment is huge.”

Universal pre-kindergarten is not child care, “it’s an early childhood education program,” said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union representing nearly 700,000 members. It’s important to align what’s taught in prekindergarten with K-12 educational programming and to have certified teachers, Person said.

The West Islip Union Free School District has had a pre-K program for several years and the difference it makes for the students is apparent, said Dawn Morrison, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. “It really does lay the foundation for school readiness skills not just academically, but behaviorally and socially as well,” Morrison said, adding that kindergarten teachers are noticing students coming in already knowing their letters, colors and how to grip a pencil.

How it’s funded

State funding for pre-K began in 1997 with a plan to expand to all districts. Over the years additional grants were put in place, each with their own requirements, making it cumbersome for districts to apply, education leaders said. Many districts were hesitant to put programs in place without a consistent funding stream, and others couldn’t for a variety of reasons including lack of building space, education leaders and advocates said.

Pre-kindergarten is now funded through two programs. One sends $10,000 per pupil to full-day programs with a certified teacher or $7,000 to those with an uncertified teacher. The other is based on a district’s school aid and provides a minimum of $5,400 per pupil.

Both programs cap the number of seats funded by the state.

Hochul’s budget consolidates the programs, removes the cap on how many seats the state would pay for and provides districts with $10,000 per pupil or their current per-pupil funding under the state’s aid formula, whichever is greater.

“This approach stabilizes the system because it’s an allocation. It’s not a competitive grant,” Marcou-O’Malley said, adding that the boost in aid will “go a long way” to making the program universal statewide, incentivizing districts to opt in.

Lifting the cap

Districts may end up getting more than the state’s initial aid projections, which were based on estimates and current enrollment and didn’t include the number of students who applied but didn’t get a seat, Cechnicki said.

West Islip schools started their own program partly in-house and partly through the South Shore Children’s Center of West Islip, but switched full over to the center due to rising costs and lack of space, said Paul Romanelli, superintendent of the West Islip Union Free School District. The district still collaborates instructionally with the center.

But there are only 213 spots available and there’s a waitlist each year, Romanelli said. Last year, there were 273 applications and the district had to select students through a lottery.

Lifting the cap will help make it truly universal, he said. “With the governor’s expansion of pre-kindergarten for every child, we’ll be able to let in upwards of 50 more students into our program, which would make a huge difference for our families," Romanelli said. 

Barriers, tax hikes

The state’s school aid formula bases a district's aid on a number of factors, including regional costs and how much districts expect to raise from local sources, primarily property taxes. As a result, districts in wealthier areas receive fewer state dollars.

Tying pre-K funding to the formula means that districts in wealthier areas are likely to receive the minimum, $10,000 per pupil.

While there may be some state aid available for transportation and space, the $10,000 is largely slated for instructional purposes. The budget proposal doesn’t include additional money for increasing building space or to transport students, which may require car seats, Cechnicki said.

It’s also difficult to find certified teachers, and pre-K classrooms require aides, and the additional cost can make it challenging to fully fund a program, Romanelli said.

There’s no funding to help increase the workforce, Marcou-O’Malley said. “If you don’t have people working these programs then you can’t fill them.”

Hochul's budget aims to boost the workforce largely by expanding access to education programs. 

With all the added costs, there will likely need to be a local share of funding, and for some that will mean raising taxes, education leaders and lawmakers said. Complicating the matter is the state's 2% cap on property tax increases, which limits the amount districts can raise without getting approval from a supermajority, or 60% of voters.

What’s next?

Over the next few months Hochul will negotiate with leaders of the Democratic-led State Legislature, whose 213 legislative seats are also up for election.

A final spending plan is due by April 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year.

Both Democrats and Republicans are calling for more investment, and addressing those areas that aren’t funded.

“There’s more that we could do to move the needle.” Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) told Newsday. She stressed the importance of investing in the child care workforce and examining all of the challenges when it comes to implementing universal pre-kindergarten in every region of the state.

Assemb. Edward Ra (R-Garden City South) told Newsday he’d like to see more capital. “A lot of our districts have money that exists in theory on their school aid run," he said, "but it’s not enough to actually get a program up and running.”