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

Mattammal also wants to expand school choice options throughout the state, including through federal or state school vouchers that would give California families public dollars to attend private school. —Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 25 May 2026

According to the indictment, Long and Arellano were independent contractors for Victor’s Canvassing in Colorado Springs and were tasked with gathering signatures for Amendment 80, a school choice measure that Colorado voters rejected in the November 2024 election. —Katie Langford, Denver Post, 15 May 2026

All but one of the 29 states that have opted into the school choice program is led by Republicans. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2026

Pro-school choice Democrats maintain that some of the dollars that do not go toward private school tuition can be used to benefit local public schools. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for school choice

• rejoice
• voice