UPDATED

President Barack Obama called on Congress in his State of the Union address to significantly expand access to preschool to all 4-year-olds from moderate- and low-income families, and to create a new spin-off of his Race to the Top program aimed at pushing high schools to adopt curricula that better prepare students for the jobs of the future.

He framed both proposals as part of a broader strategy to invest in the nation's economic future and bolster the middle class—the overaching theme of his first State of the Union speech since winning re-election. The president told the nation his ideas wouldn't add to the federal deficit, as Washington struggles to rein in spending.

The preschool expansion proposal would include incentives and support for states that want to substantially grow their early-childhood educat.... And it would entice states to offer full-day kindergarten, which right now is only available in 10 states and the District of Columbia, White House aides said.

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