COLUMBIA, S.C. - Supporters of a plan to give parents tax credits for sending children to private schools trimmed down that perk in a new version of the bill introduced Thursday.

The new bill says parents paying for private school tuition can take a tax credit equal to 51 percent of what the state spends on a per-pupil basis. Based on spending projections the House Ways and Means Committee adopted Thursday in the state budget, that would be about $2,190 if the legislation were put into effect this fall.

The old version of the bill said parents could take 80 percent, or about $3,437, in tax credits.

That would leave more money in public schools to help children who stay in public schools, said Rep. Shirley Hinson, R-Goose Creek, one of the bill's 32 co-sponsors.

The change also helps deal with concerns some legislators had about the tax credit program blowing a hole in the state's budget, said Rep. Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg, the bill's chief sponsor.

The credit also would cover 100 percent of the tuition of children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at public schools.

It's unclear how widespread that benefit may be because the bill says the tax credit is not refundable. That means lower income parents - those who don't have state tax liabilities - would not be eligible for the credit.

In South Carolina, a married couple with two children and an income of $20,000 would have no taxable income, according to a tax analysis by South Carolina Fair Share, a Columbia-based advocacy group.

Students in that situation likely will be helped by scholarships granted from nonprofit groups that the legislation allows to be set up, supporters say.

Individuals and businesses can take credits against income taxes, license fees or insurance premium taxes if they give money to scholarship granting organizations, the legislation says.

Families would have to make at least $50,000 to reap benefits from the legislation, according to the South Carolina School Boards Association.

The credit stops for people who have state taxable income exceeding $75,000. That's about what a married couple with two children would report to the state if they had more than $96,000 in income.

The school board group said in a news release the new legislation leaves the program "unaffordable, unaccountable and unproven."

"We are for education - public, private, home schooling - we want children to be educated. And that's why we're here," Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston, said. "The educrat society attacks anyone who does not agree with them. ... What we're trying to do is free the parents and the families from the tyranny of educrats."

Gov. Mark Sanford, the legislation's most notable supporter, likes the new legislation, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

"Sadly, it seems the educational establishment is going to unilaterally attack and oppose this bill," Folks said.

Parents will leap at the opportunity for savings on private school tuition that may help their children's education, Folks said.