They call it universal prekindergarten. But not every school district in New York state has a program for kids younger than age 5 to spend a least part of their day at school. State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin wants to change that. 

State lawmakers are calling for an expansion of prekindergarten programs in districts outside New York City as the state budget negotiations heat up. 

"It's not universal when it's a competitive program that then only serves a small portion of the kids," said Assemblywoman Paulin. 

A bipartisan push is being made this month to expand pre-K funding in the state budget. That could potentially benefit school districts like in the city of Albany. Superintendent Kaweeda Adams said the measure will help children grow at a young age. 

"When we talk at the earliest ages getting our students into those pre-K programs even as early as three years old, there's socialization that happens with our students, there's problem-solving that happens with our students," Adams said. 

But Adams added that it will take money to address the issue. 

"We know that the early we can educate our children, the more equitable outcomes we're going to see for them. So making sure we have that appropriate funding for our students at the youngest ages so we can include as many of our students as we can is really important," she said. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposed $216 billion budget includes $900 million for pre-K programs. 

"We actually have money on the table that's not being used by the localities," Hochul said Tuesday. "So that's a question for the local school districts. We make it available, but a lot of school districts do not want to institute universal pre-K."

Overall, New York is seeing a major spending increase in school aid, billions of dollars in direct funding that has been long sought by advocates.

Hochul indicated she is willing to discuss the issue with lawmakers, but insisted the funding will remain as part of the spending plan. 

"It's also a way to address the child care crisis to have children who are four years old occupied in a very naturing setting," she said. "So I believe in it, we have money on the table, it's going to continue in our budget."