State Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Dana Levenberg, alongside Croton-on-Hudson parents and educators, called for Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase universal pre-kindergarten funding and capacity earlier than 2028 for families outside of New York City.

Universal pre-kindergarten or UPK is a federal and state-funded program that allows children to attend pre-K for free.

Hochul's 2026-2027 fiscal year state budget plans to invest $4.5 billion in pre-kindergarten and child care, though many school districts outside of New York City would not see the funding until 2028.

Earlier this year, Childrenspace North, which operates a UPK program, said that due to significant gaps between state funding and the cost of running the program, the program would no longer be able to operate.

Legislators, educators and families living outside of New York City are now calling for the state to fully fund UPK as soon as next year.

"Move this up from fully funding every slot from 2028 to 2027 so we don't have to have this inequitable lottery situation," said state Senator Pete Harckham.

Because of capacity and funding gaps, only 56% of 4-year-olds statewide were in state-administered pre-k programs.

Sarah Forth, co-director of Childrenspace North, says the program can't wait another year.

"We were relieved to find out that Gov. Hochul committed to increasing the reimbursement rate to the much-needed amount of $10,000 per pupil. Now, we need to make sure that New York State approves this in their final budget so we can continue to operate this program," said Forth.

The governor points out that the number of children living outside of New York City, receiving child care subsidies, has more than doubled in the last four years.