More than 190,000 students across Baja California Sur returned to classrooms on Monday, August 31, marking the official start of the 2026-2027 school year.
The state’s five municipalities saw over 150,000 basic-education students and more than 42,000 high-school students head back to class, according to Alicia Meza Osuna, head of the state’s Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP).
For families in Los Cabos, the return to school means adjusting morning routines, planning around school drop-off traffic and settling into the rhythm of the academic year. Over 60,000 of the state’s students are enrolled in Los Cabos schools alone.
What The Numbers Show
The official start-of-year ceremony took place at 8:00 a.m. Monday at the Hugo César Piñeda Chacón primary school in La Paz’s Camino Real neighbourhood.
Meza highlighted that Baja California Sur continues to rank among the top Mexican states for educational coverage and the lowest dropout rates in both basic and high-school education. Basic education now sees a completion rate of 99.5 percent.
Higher education enrollment has also climbed. The state now serves 30,000 university students, up from 24,000 at the start of the current administration — a 22 percent increase. Of those, 75 percent attend public institutions and 25 percent study at private schools.
Infrastructure Investment
The current state administration has invested nearly 1.4 billion pesos in educational infrastructure, funding new school construction, rehabilitation and improvements across the state.
That investment has contributed to maintaining BCS’s strong performance in national education metrics, according to state officials.
What It Means For Residents
The return to school affects daily life across the state. Parents should expect heavier traffic near schools during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup, particularly in La Paz, Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
For visitors planning trips during the fall months, school schedules mean busier roads during weekday mornings and afternoons in residential areas. The school year runs through early June.
Expat families with children enrolled in local schools should confirm textbook availability with their individual campuses, as some schools in other Mexican states have reported delays in distribution at the start of the year.
