House on a vote of 78 to 15.

It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

There also today, state Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate called for action when it comes to universal pre-K.

Lawmakers in both chambers have filed bills to expand preschool access.

House Bill 574 and Senate Bill 165 establish a phased pathway to universal preschool access for all four year olds.

In this measure, school districts would implement pre-K programs when they are ready, but no later than the 2034 school year.

The bill's also set statewide quality standards and create a database to track the progress of students who enroll in pre-K.

House Bill 572 and Senate Bill 166 would expand pre-K access to families whose income is 250% below the federal poverty line.

Right now, families are eligible if their income is 160% below the federal poverty line.

>> This is not just education policy.

It's a workforce policy.

It's an economic policy.

It's a rural development policy.

Over time, expanded pre-K access is projected to grow Kentucky's workforce by up to 70,000 people, and research consistently shows that every dollar spent in high quality early learning returns up to $10 to the community through higher earnings, lower remediation costs, improved health, and reduced justice system involvement.

>> The bills, which would phase in universal pre-K access, would cost an estimated $40 million, according to House bill sponsor representative and Don worth.

Governor Andy Beshear, who has championed pre-K for all, recommended to use funds from sports wagering to cover the cost of expanded preschool.

Democratic leaders said today they did not specify in their legislation where the money should come from, but they believe the state has sufficient funding to foot the bill.

As long as leaders from both parties can come to an agreement.

>> It's not a matter of whether we have the capacity to do that.

We have the capacity to do it.

The coming together and agreeing that we need to do it is the key question.

And then we can determine the best path pathways.

And maybe the governor has insight into it and has the best way to do it, but we're going to all have to sit down at the table and agree on where that's going to come from.

>> When you look at the budget of the state of Kentucky, you should be able to tell what we value.

And one of the things that we should be investing in the most is education.

I'm proud that we do invest a lot in education.

Maybe we have to invest less in those programs to help kids along the way.

When they get to be middle schoolers, high schoolers, post-secondary education, because we invested in them early.

>> The Senate minority leaders emphasized that their bills do not mandate universal pre-K, but they expand eligibility for parents who choose to enroll