The new Republicans in Congress have vowed to challenge the federal role in American public education, and said they will seek to turn more power over to the states on many fronts. But one of their priorities is a new federal rule: to give parents in every state tax credits if their children are home-schooled.

Previous efforts in Congress to adopt a nationwide tax break have failed, and currently only three states — Illinois, Louisiana and Minnesota — allow some benefit for home schooling.

Will the idea succeed in the new Congress, given some conservatives’ longtime opposition, on the grounds that the credits might open the door to more government regulation of education? How would such a system work? Is it a threat to public education, as its critics claim?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/04/do-home-schoolers-deserve-a-tax-break?ref=opinion