Claudio Sanchez

President Obama is on the road as part of his effort to jump-start his 2015 agenda. Friday he's in Tennessee, talking about higher education.

President Obama is expected to propose an expansion of preschool programs in his State of the Union Address. Most states have bought into the idea and restored funding for the programs. What's less clear is where the long-term funding is going to come from, and whether the quality of these programs are worth the investment.

The Obama administration wants public school officials to rethink how they discipline and punish students who misbehave. In the mid-1990s, states put in place harsh "zero-tolerance" policies in response to a rise in violence, bullying, drug use and school shootings. But studies show that too often kids are being punished just as harshly for minor offenses. Black, Latino and disabled students are disproportionately affected. Now the departments of Education and Justice are issuing new guidelines to help schools re-evaluate their disciplinary policies.

The University of the People says it's the "world's first, tuition-free, online university," designed for poor students who would otherwise lack access to higher education. The institution has 1,300 students in 129 countries, but it's also struggling to maintain its "free" mission.

President Obama delivered his annual back-to-school speech at Benjamin Banneker High School, one of Washington, D.C.'s top performing schools.

Nearly 1 million kids who start high school every year don't make it to graduation. At a time when federal and state budgets are tight, dropouts costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue, health care, welfare and incarceration costs.

The Bolivian-born math teacher who surprised the education establishment by teaching students in a tough Los Angeles high school to master calculus and other higher math courses has died. Jaime Escalante was 79. His inspiring story gained fame in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver but in later years he struggled to duplicate his earlier successes.

Parents and teachers often expect less of students who are the children of Dominican immigrants. This causes their grades and ambitions to suffer.

President-elect Barack Obama is said to have chosen Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan to serve as education secretary. Duncan has run the country's third-biggest school district for the past seven years. He has focused on improving struggling schools, closing those that fail and getting better teachers.

The No Child Left Behind Act — which Congress approved with overwhelming bipartisan support — is now drawing sharp bipartisan opposition. The law is up for reauthorization, and many — including those who originally supported it — are pointing out its flaws.