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

Not much of the debate has focused on how school choice can affect immigrant students. — Beth Lloyd, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026

The school choice program paid for summer classes for at least some families at the Hot Springs microschool. — Arkansas Online, 5 Sep. 2026

Her comments on the topic welded AI onto the broader philosophy of school choice. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026

The money was part of the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, a long-standing initiative aimed at desegregating public schools and expanding school choice. — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for school choice

• rejoice
• voice