Eligible Alabama families will now have the option to receive $7,000 to pay for private school tuition starting in the 2025 school year.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act into law Thursday morning, according to the state Republican party.

The law would create education savings accounts, or ESAs, for families of students to use toward eligible education expenses.

ALGOP Chairman John Wahl issued a statement thanking Ivey for signing it into law, saying the bill “marks a historic achievement for the State of Alabama in the battle for education freedom and parental rights.”

“There is still much to do in the fight for school freedom, but this bill takes a massive step forward in putting parents back in control of their children’s education,” Wahl said. “A child’s quality of education should never be based on their background or where they live.”

As the bill moved through the House, a dozen amendments were added to the bill, according to Ivey’s education policy director Nick Moore.

After five hours of debate on Wednesday, the full Senate struck down additional amendments offered on the floor and passed the bill, fast-tracking it to the governor’s office.

While Ivey heralded the legislation as a “monumental achievement” that would help Alabama families, the state Senate’s Democratic leader warned this week that it was a “new segregation” financed “on the backs of poor children.”

“This is the new segregation,” Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said on the Senate floor Wednesday night. “We’re just paying for it this time. Paying for it on the backs of poor children.”

How it will work

Lawmakers will allocate at least $100 million each year to fund ESAs, with unused money rolling over to the next year. The fund cannot contain more than $500 million in any one year.

The Alabama Department of Revenue will be in charge of all aspects of the program. Current public schools must cooperate with and provide records for students currently enrolled in public school who are eligible for and choose to use an ESA.

The first ESAs will be available in the 2025-26 school year and will be limited to eligible students. All students will be eligible for ESAs at the start of the 2027-28 school year.

Students between the ages of 5 and 19 who have not graduated high school are eligible for ESAs. Students with disabilities between the ages of 5 and 21 are also eligible.

Read more: What you need to know about Alabama’s school choice bill

The parent of a student receiving an ESA must agree to pay the remaining amount of tuition or expenses beyond the $7,000 cap.

Participating schools and education service providers cannot discriminate against a student based on race, color or national origin. They are not required to accept all students, though. They are not prohibited from discriminating against a student with a disability and they are not required to provide services for children with disabilities.

Parents and students cannot receive any money from the ESA.