The Basque Government will close four public schools in Bizkaia due to the decline in the birth rate

The Basque Government will close and deregister four public schools in Bizkaia: the Ingeniero Orbegozo Gorostidi and Tomás Camacho early childhood and primary education centers in Bilbao, Larrañazubi in Getxo, and Lamiako in Leioa. The decision was formalized through Decree 138/2026, approved on August 27 and published on September 17 in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV, issue 178), with official reference 2026/3919. The closures will take effect after the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Government decision and legal basis

The decree was approved by the Governing Council upon the proposal of the Department of Education at the meeting on August 27, and was signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz on the same day by President Imanol Pradales Gil and Education Councilor María Begoña Pedrosa Lobato.

The regulation is based on Article 16 of the Statute, which recognizes the exclusive competence over teaching to the Basque Autonomous Community, and Article 17 of Organic Law 8/1985, which regulates the power to create and abolish public schools. To this are added Law 17/2023, of December 21, on the Education System of the Basque Autonomous Community, and Decree 21/2009, of February 3, amended by Decree 30/2023; the latter establishes the criteria for organizing and planning the school network.

Decline in birth rate and network reorganization

The justification is based on a detailed analysis of enrollment trends and demographic schooling prospects. The analysis reveals that the demand for early childhood and primary education places has continuously decreased, linked to the decline in the birth rate in recent years, and that the supply must be adapted to actual schooling needs.

According to the decree, this adjustment prevents oversupply and the underutilization of resources, strengthens the sustainability of the public network, and promotes a more balanced distribution of students, especially those in the most vulnerable situations. The measure is consistent with the development of the school map and policies to reduce segregation, aiming to prevent the concentration of disadvantaged students.

Which schools will close

The first article of the decree abolishes these four public schools:

• Ingeniero Orbegozo Gorostidi public early childhood and primary education center (code 014123), Bilbao.
• Larrañazubi public early childhood and primary education center (code 014291), Getxo.
• Tomás Camacho public early childhood and primary education center (code 014150), Bilbao.
• Lamiako public early childhood and primary education center (code 014332), Leioa.

When it will enter into force and what will happen to the students

According to the second article, the deletions will take effect after the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, and from that moment on, the schools will be removed from the Registry of Schools of the Basque Autonomous Community. The decree itself will enter into force the day following its publication in the BOPV.

The sole additional provision instructs the Department of Education to ensure the continuity of students’ schooling by enrolling them in other nearby public schools and providing continuity to their academic paths. Likewise, it must reorganize the human, material, and economic resources affected by the measure, in accordance with current regulations and guaranteeing the rights of both teaching and non-teaching staff.

Appeals

The decree exhausts the administrative route and opens the following paths:

• An optional appeal for reversal, before the Governing Council, within a period of one month starting from the day following its publication.
• A contentious-administrative appeal, before the Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Autonomous Community, within a period of two months starting from the day following its publication.

The closure of the four schools directly affects the surrounding families and the schooling offer, and alters the structure of the public network in Bizkaia. The impact of the measure is not only administrative: it reorganizes the distribution of students, the use of resources, and the capacity of surrounding schools, which will require monitoring in the coming academic years.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, n.º 178, 17 de septiembre de 2026, Otras Disposiciones (official reference: 2026/3919).