school voucher

[skool vou-cher]

noun

1. a government voucher or cash grant given to a parent or guardian to be used toward paying the fees for their child to attend a private or parochial school of choice, instead of an assigned free public school: She opposes school vouchers, saying they shuffle kids into private, for-profit charter schools at taxpayers’ expense.

   Proponents of school vouchers claim they give the city's poor improved access to quality education.

   She opposes school vouchers, saying they shuffle kids into private, for-profit charter schools at taxpayers’ expense.

Word History and Origins

Origin of school voucher¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

“But what I would say is the governor is probably familiar with bribes, given the millions of dollars he received from Jeff Yass to pass private school voucher scams.”

From Salon

Under Texas’ school voucher system, taxpayers foot the bill for up to $10,000 of the cost of private schools.

From Salon

“We didn’t break quorum when they passed a private school voucher bill that will defund our public schools. We didn’t break quorum when they passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country, endangering the lives of women and girls all over our state. We didn’t even break quorum when they gerrymandered these maps the last time at the beginning of the decade; we’re breaking quorum because this power grab is so egregious,” Talarico said.

From Salon

In 2022, Arizona lawmakers made a state school voucher program universal, just four years after voters shot down the proposal by a two-to-one margin.

From Salon

Measures like those in North Dakota or school voucher systems aren’t my favorites, but their willingness to abandon the hyperlocalism of American property taxation is salutary.

From Slate