school choice

noun

US : a program or policy in which students are given the choice to use public funds to attend a school other than their district's public school (as at a charter school, private school, home school, or at a public school in a different district)

Voucher plans were adopted largely as a last resort, an effort to guarantee a semblance of school choice for low-income minority students in failing inner-city schools.

—Jeffrey Rosen

To be sure, even their most enthusiastic defenders acknowledge that many public schools, especially in big cities are riven with serious problems. The debate over "school choice" and tax vouchers for private schools illustrates the widespread discontent with public schools.

—Dirk Johnson

Examples of school choice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His wife, Janine, founded a Philadelphia charter school and is an advocate for school choice. — Eric Lau, Washington Post, 25 June 2026

Geller, a former Democratic state lawmaker and county party chair, said that state policies on school choice and federal action spurring deportations could be detractors. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026

State lawmakers approved changes to Arkansas' universal school choice program on Friday that would limit athletics spending and reduce students' rollover funds. — Arkansas Online, 19 June 2026

Political outsider or not, many of the policies Marx has embraced in the gubernatorial campaign — audits of the state budget, support for police and immigration enforcement, strict Medicaid work requirements, tax relief, school choice — will be largely familiar to voters in the Republican primary. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for school choice

• rejoice
• voice