Cuts to K-12 Expected in Wake of Debt Deal

Advocates brace for impact, though extent still unclear

Education advocates are bracing for the fallout from the eleventh-hour congressional vote to lift the federal debt ceiling—and the significant belt-tightening that comes along with it.

But how deeply K-12 education will be affected, and when, is not at all clear.

The hard-fought deal enacted last week to avert a U.S. default places 10-year caps on federal spending, including a $7 billion overall reduction from current levels in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. It creates a new bipartisan congressional committee charged with finding $1.5 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years. Failure to come up with or enact such reductions would trigger automatic cuts, or "sequestration," of $984 billion...