Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Amy Paulin applauds the full funding of universal full-day pre-K in the NYS FY 2026-27 Budget. The budget officially puts New York on the path to provide full-day pre-K seats to all eligible 4-year-olds in NYS by the 2028-29 school year, by providing a funding increase to a minimum state reimbursement rate of $10,000 per pupil.

“Pre-K provides our kids with a nurturing environment to build a meaningful foundation for their future K-12 education,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. “Studies show that children who arrive at kindergarten prepared to learn perform better throughout school and complete more years of education. Public pre-K also enables parents of young children to return to the workforce. I’ve advocated for truly universal pre-K for all of NYS’ children for over a decade. Until now, most communities outside New York City either lacked public pre-K entirely because of a lack in funding or received only $5,400 per pupil for a full-day program—far too little to meet the need. With reimbursement now set at $10,000 per pupil, New York has a real opportunity to fully fund full-day pre-K for every 4-year-old statewide. Every child in New York needs and deserves the strong start that pre-K provides.”

History of Pre-K Funding in NYS

The allotted funds per child under UPK varies among districts, with many only receiving $5,400 for each full-day placement. For most districts, the per pupil UPK funding is insufficient to cover the actual costs. So, in 2014, the SUFDPK program was created after the state recognized the UPK allotment was inadequate, and most districts do not have the financial resources to supplement state funds.

The SUFDPK program provides grantees $10,000 per child. It was created primarily for New York City, recognizing that $5,400 per pupil was inadequate for costly areas. At the inception of the program, we allocated $300 million to New York City and $40 million to the rest of the state.

The $300M in funding allowed NYC to have a truly universal “as a right” program.

However, the remaining $40M was not enough to fully fund the rest of the state, so a competitive grant process was created for districts outside of NYC to compete for funding. More than twice as many districts applied than were funded. The program was not expanded until the 2023 enacted budget when $50M was added to the SUFDPK program and again, more districts applied than could be funded.

In recent years, several school districts which applied for state funded pre-K grants, have been unable to receive the funding necessary to operate their pre-K programs. In some cases, the school districts were deemed eligible, but there were insufficient funds available from the State. The formula for receiving these funds is based on property values, so, Westchester only generated $2700/child for a ½ day program and $5400/child for a full day program – not enough for Westchester, or many other counties, to provide full-day pre-K services.

The NYS FY 2026-27 Budget not only remedies the inequity between schools in New York City and districts outside of the city, but also consolidates the SUFDPK and UPK streams into a single, unified Statewide Universal Full Day Pre-K program.

School officials and advocates expressed appreciation for the full funding of UPK:

“The State’s commitment to fully funding UPK is a transformational investment in children, families, and communities across New York. Every day, we witness the remarkable growth that occurs when young learners have access to high-quality early childhood education. This funding ensures that more children will enter kindergarten ready to succeed and more families will have access to the support they need to thrive,” said Cynthia Delfino, President/CEO of the YMCA of Central & Northern Westchester.

“New York State’s recently approved budget takes a significant step towards ensuring high-quality early childhood learning opportunities for our youngest statewide. The White Plains City School District is grateful to Assemblymember Paulin for her tireless advocacy, as she is constantly championing causes that directly support all students in an equitable fashion. This investment in our children will pay dividends, as the benefits of laying a solid early educational foundation are clear and will carry the learner through their entire academic journey. Thank you to our legislators in Albany for recognizing the importance of this funding for the whole state; we are excited to continue our Pre-K program and continue expanding opportunities for all our students,” said Joseph L. Ricca, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools, White Plains Public Schools.

“Fully funding the Statewide Universal Full-Day Pre-K program helps build equity into the ecosystem. All children in New York should all be given the same educational opportunities from the start,” said Laura Newman, Executive Director, Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc.

“The Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy has been working for 150 years to advance policies that enable all New Yorkers – particularly low-income families and children – to thrive. Universal pre-k and child care have been among our top priorities as policies proven to keep families together, strong, and economically stable, and to remove the barriers created by racism and economic inequality,” said Dede Hill, Vice President of Policy for the Schuyler Center. “This budget includes record, recurring investments in child care assistance for low- and moderate-income families, significant pre-K and 3-K expansions, pilot programs for 2-K in New York City and universal child care in the rest of the state. Also in this budget: a commitment to achieving universal pre-K across the state by the 2028-29 school year, and a pre-K rate increase to at least $10,000 per child across the state that will end a longstanding inequity in the funding structure of pre-K. We applaud state leaders for making such remarkable progress toward creating a New York that provides high-quality, free, universal child care and pre-K to all the state’s children, and pays the early childhood workforce a thriving wage,” said Dede Hill, Director of Policy, Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.

“I’m thrilled that NYS is now delivering on fully funded pre-K for all 4-year-olds in the State,” said Paulin, “and commend Governor Hochul and my colleagues in the Legislature for supporting this important investment in New York’s children.”