School Administrators, Parents, Teachers & Unions Reject Premature End of Mexican School Year

ByLaura Poy Solano

This article by Laura Poy Solano originally appeared in the May 8, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

The decision by the SEP to “adjust” the 2025-2026 school calendar due to high temperatures and the World Cup was categorically rejected by various sectors, from parents to teachers, school administrators, leaders of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE), and even meteorologists.

Primary and secondary school teachers stated that the SEP’s decision to shorten the school year and eliminate 28 days of classes “came as a complete shock” to schools, which will affect not only student learning but also parents, since the school year will end on June 5, and not on July 15, as originally established by the SEP.

Leaders of the CNTE stated that it is not a pedagogical measure, but a political one that seeks to weaken the teachers’ movement, in the context of the call for a national strike, the date of which will be defined on May 16.

Pedro Hernández Morales, general secretary of section 9, pointed out that “if before we said that the ball was in the federal government’s court, now we say that it is out of place and deserves a red card.”

Teachers unions see this as a plan to thwart a proposed national strike while serving corporate interests.

“It’s a risky stance,” says Union Leader

Professor Enrique Enríquez, director of the Japón elementary school, emphasized that the SEP’s decision “has nothing to do with education, because they did not consult the teachers, much less the parents.”

With this measure, he said, it is confirmed that the school calendar and its duration “are the least of the concerns of the current federal administration, because they are taking the unprecedented action of suspending classes. It is clear that decisions are being made at the Secretariat of Education without knowing the reality of the schools and their needs.”

In Zacatecas, Filiberto Frausto, leader of Section 34, said that the educational authorities’ strategy in bringing forward the vacations is to demobilize teachers. “It’s a risky move that could backfire.”

Section 22 of Oaxaca also rejected the modifications because “they respond more to economic, political and media interests linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, than to the real needs of public education.”

He described as incongruous the fact that the SEP uses high temperatures as an argument, “when for decades public schools have remained neglected.”

In a message shared on social media, teachers from Oaxaca stated that any modification to the school calendar “must be built democratically, taking into account the voice of the school communities.”

Teachers and administrators emphasized that rushing the end of the school year disrupts all processes, not only administrative ones, but also those related to student evaluation, their learning, and the development of their projects.

On social media, users expressed their surprise at the changes to the school year. On social media platform X, user @InfoMeteoro lamented that education authorities were using weather conditions as a pretext for reducing the number of school days.

“So far, there is no indication of a #HeatWave for the coming weeks; the rains will gradually increase, bringing cooler temperatures, and even if one does occur, it cannot be predicted weeks in advance,” stated the meteorology account.