To: The New York State House, The New York State Senate, and Governor Andrew Cuomo

Tell Albany to Pass NYC's Universal Pre-K Plan

I support New York City's proposal to finally implement universal, free pre-K and after-school programs for middle school students, paid for by asking New Yorkers who earn more than $500,000 a year to pay a little bit more in taxes.

Why is this important?

We know Pre-K and after-school work. Study after study shows that high-quality investments in early education and extended day learning can boost student achievement and success for years afterward.

But today, most children in New York City still don’t have access to free full-day, high quality Pre-K, and tens of thousands of middle school students miss out on educational after-school programs.

Universal Pre-K is not a new idea. In fact, Albany has been talking about universal Pre-K ever since 1997. But the money to make it a reality has never come through.

To expand Pre-K and after-school, we need a steady, predictable source of funding. That’s why we need Albany to pass UPKNYC’s plan to pay for these critical investments by asking New Yorkers who earn more than $500,000 a year to pay a little bit more in taxes.