The La Paz area offers various education options for your family, including public schools, private schools and international schools. Homeschooling is also allowed in Mexico. Many expats choose to put their children in private, bilingual schools because public schools often are crowded.
The public school system in Mexico is overseen by the Secretariat of Public Instruction (Secretaria de Educacion Publica, SEP). Attendance is mandatory for all students ages 6 to15. Basic education includes pre-primary school for children 3 to 5, elementary school for children 6 to 12 and secondary school for those 13 to 15.
Students at the age of 16 are given the option to continue schooling at the high school level. There are two possible degree options. The first is a qualified technician degree, or profesional tecnico, which is chosen by less than 10 percent of all students. The other is a high-school diploma, or bachillerato, a much more popular option.
The school year in Mexico starts in mid-August and ends in the first days of July and, by law, must cover 200 days.
Currently, there are no schools that solely use English as the language of instruction. There are some bilingual schools including the Colegio Bilingüe María Fernanda in the Las Garzas neighborhood, the Instituto Bilingüe del Valle Elementary School in Pueblo Nuevo and Instituto México Bilingüe Pino Payas off of Boulevard Pino Pallas. All three provide K-12 instruction with Pino Payas also offering pre-school.
Homeschooling is another option for expats in the La Paz area. There are no laws prohibiting homeschooling in the country, if you choose to do so. You can find out details at this Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website.
La Paz is also the center of higher education and research for Baja California Sur. It has five nationally recognized universities and two internationally recognized research centers in marine biology.
