Backers of the S.C. tuition-tax-credit proposal point to Milwaukee’s voucher program as an example of a successful school choice plan. But opponents say what works in a densely populated city wouldn’t necessarily be a success in a rural state.

How Milwaukee’s plan works

• Low-income parents who want to take advantage of the program get vouchers — the equivalent of the taxes that would have gone to pay for their children to go to public schools.

• Parents can use that money for private school tuition.

• The program has led private and charter schools to compete with public schools for students. Backers say that has improved public schools and helped students.

How the proposed S.C. program would work

• South Carolina’s proposal is a tax credit, meaning it would reduce the taxes paid by a parent.

• It would be available to any parent whose taxable income is $75,000 or less. Those parents could take an annual tax credit of about $3,000, or 80 percent of the state’s per-pupil spending for public schools.

• Individuals or corporations could take a tax credit for donating to private school scholarships that would help poor students pay for private school tuition or other school costs.