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

Other top spenders include Forge the Future Project ($612,000), which gets its funding from Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms; and AFC Victory Fund ($235,000), which promotes school choice initiatives. — David Wickert, AJC.com, 29 Oct. 2026

His wife, Erika Donalds, is a former Collier County school board member who operates a network of for-profit charter schools and advocates nationally for school choice. — Liv Coleman, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2026

Proponents of school choice, and particularly of private school voucher programs, tend to support the FSTC, which brings federal dollars into what has until now been a state-by-state effort. — Theo Peck-Suzuki, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026

To ensure quality education, Pendleton wants to cut taxes, reduce overhead spending, give parents more school choice choices via education savings accounts and vouchers, and pay teachers more. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1988, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for school choice

• rejoice
• voice