Gov. Mark Sanford and several lawmakers are boarding a chartered plane today to visit Milwaukee, where low-income students can use vouchers to attend private schools.

The 24-hour trip is being sponsored by Illinois-based Legislative Education Action Drive, which advocates tuition tax credits for parents who want to send their children to private school or to another public school.

The S.C. team will visit several schools and meet with community leaders. Sanford and other tax credit supporters often say Milwaukee’s program is one of the nation’s most successful.

Sanford hopes to persuade S.C. lawmakers next year to pass tuition tax credits in his “Put Parents in Charge” bill. A version of the bill died in a House committee last spring. It likely will be one of the most controversial bills of the coming legislative session.

Many Democrats and some Republicans say it would drain money from the state budget.

Contributing: Staff writer Jennifer Talhelm