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In the final version of the bill, in order to pass reconciliation, the tax credit was capped at $1,700 per year, per individual donor. And there's an option for states to refuse to participate in the program.

The Republicans like to use these "tax credit" programs to claim to their constituents that they are supporting "school choice," but a tax credit scholarship program is a lot different than programs like vouchers, which are funded by tax dollars. Tax credits fund all kinds of scholarships and educational initiatives at public, charter and private schools, they are the other side of a tax "deduction," except that they involve a credit against the tax liability of the donor. This particular bill is not exclusive to private, religious based schools, in order to meet "establishment clause" muster, it has to be open to every non-profit scholarship program, including a significant number which support any non-profit scholarship initiatives for high achieving, low income students, not just those in private or religious based schools. In other words, if a public high school charges students $350 a semester to participate in band, and a parent group sets up a scholarship fund to help lower income families pay that fee, all of their donors would be eligible for up to $1,700 in tax credits for their donation to the scholarship fund.

Cruz is basically throwing scraps to constituents. It's not the kind of school choice they've been looking for.