Perry wants to cut $100 billion in federal non-defense spending, and one-quarter of that would come from the U.S. Department of Education, according to his plan. (His plan doesn’t appear to put a target timeline for achieving the full $100 billion in savings.) He proposes slashing half of all funding for elementary and secondary programs, which he estimates will save $25 billion in the first year, and sending that money back to the states.
Frankly, given all the talk in the GOP field about eliminating the Education Department entirely, I’m surprised he’s going to let those programs keep half their money. Perry has been no fan of the Education Department of late.