The Arizona Tax Credit Program, which allows businesses to donate to nonprofit organizations that distribute vouchers for private schools to children who need them, is now law. On March 29 Gov. Janet Napolitano allowed the Arizona tax credit program to become law without her signature, ending a year-long battle with legislators to sign the measure into law.

Under the new law, the cap is set at $5 million a year, with vouchers worth up to $4,200 for K-8 students and $5,500 for high school, to serve low-income students—somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 students. The law will expire in five years, requiring legislators to create and pass a new bill to keep the program alive after that.

"This is a great day for children who desperately need educational options," Alliance for School Choice President Clint Bolick said in a March 30 statement. The Alliance for School Choice is a Phoenix-based nonpartisan organization that advocates for choice programs nationwide.

Arizona already has a personal tax credit program, which gives 21,000 students scholarships worth more than $28 million.

According to the Alliance for School Choice, so far this year 13 legislative houses in seven states—Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin—have passed school choice bills. Four states—Arizona, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin—have passed bills creating or expanding choice programs.