Spanish teachers resume strikes as new school year begins

**Teachers on warpath: New school year starts with strikes**
The start of the 2026-2027 school year is overshadowed by a wave of teacher strikes in several Spanish autonomous communities, highlighting deep dissatisfaction with working conditions and lack of resources in the education system.
Teacher discontent shows no signs of easing. After summer holidays that did little to calm tensions, staff in various Spanish regions are back on the streets demanding urgent improvements. The curtain rises on the new term with walkouts and protests reflecting years of accumulated frustration, while the Ministry of Education attempts to implement promised reforms for this cycle.

## The explosive cocktail of teaching
Daily life in classrooms has become increasingly complex. Rising student diversity, with more pupils requiring specific educational support, combined with demands for personalized attention that result in significant bureaucratic burdens, have pushed many teachers to their limit. A study by the **Fundación SM** reveals that between **2007** and **2025**, the percentage of teachers who say they view their profession with indifference rose from **2%** to **38%**. While nobody expects teaching to rely solely on vocation or passion, this figure clearly indicates the sector's deterioration.
Demands are unanimous across almost the entire territory: class sizes are unsustainable, salaries do not match responsibilities, and teaching hours are excessive. This is compounded by a shortage of specialists, such as those in Therapeutic Pedagogy and Speech-Language Pathology, and suffocating bureaucracy. Furthermore, many teachers feel undervalued and unsupported by society, despite assuming increasing responsibilities, from managing mobile phone use to handling bullying.

The growing complexity in classrooms is reflected in the figures. According to **CCOO**, the percentage of students with special educational needs has grown by more than **75%** in six years, rising from **7.59%** to **13%** of the total. **CSIF** estimates there are **1.2 million** such students, triple the number from fifteen years ago. Meanwhile, funding allocated to address this diversity has only increased by **31%**, a gap that, according to unions, is paid for by the teachers themselves.

## Echoes of past strikes
The previous academic year was already marked by significant protests. In communities like **Madrid** and the **Comunitat Valenciana**, mobilizations reached unprecedented intensity. Early childhood educators in Madrid began an indefinite strike in April that persists today, highlighting the precariousness of this sector, especially in private schools where salaries barely exceed the Minimum Interprofessional Wage. From October, other non-university education teachers will join them, calling for an indefinite stoppage against the "degradation of public education."

In the **Comunitat Valenciana**, teachers maintained an indefinite strike for five consecutive weeks, putting pressure on the regional government (Generalitat). Although union unity fractured, the pause was temporary, and demands remain on the table. Catalan teachers also staged walkouts and massive demonstrations, rejecting the regional government's proposals as insufficient. They will return to the streets on **September 11**.
These are joined by **Andalusia**, which has called a general strike for **November 11** against the "dismantling" of public education, and other communities such as **Cantabria**, **Aragon**, **Balearic Islands**, **Castile and León**, and **Navarre**, which have planned protests that could escalate into strikes. The union **CSIF** has announced a campaign of mobilizations in September due to the "abandonment suffered by public education," warning that it could lead to strike calls.

## The path through Congress and decrees
While protests continue in the autonomous communities, the Ministry of Education, led by **Milagros Tolón**, is trying to advance a series of measures aimed at improving teachers' situations and establishing a professional statute. This is a historic demand of the unions: regulations governing career pogre from entry to retirement, including aspects such as competitive exams, promotions, working conditions, class ratios, and teaching hours.
Given the complexity of approving comprehensive legislation, the Ministry has opted to tackle the problem piece by piece, creating working groups to advance on specific aspects. Initial measures will focus on weekly teaching hours and class ratios. A bill seeking to reduce the number of students per class in primary and secondary education (maximum **22** and **25**, respectively) and decrease the teaching day (caps of **23** and **18** hours per week) resumes its processing in Congress. However, its approval could be complicated by the electoral context.
It is likely that, before this law sees the light of day, the Ministry will approve via Royal Decree the reduction of ratios in Early Childhood and Baccalaureate stages, which are non-compulsory and do not require passing through Congress. It proposes reducing Early Childhood ratios (four babies per educator in classes for under-ones, six in one-and-two-year-old classes, eight in two-and-three-year-old classes, and **22** in three-to-six-year-old classes) and Baccalaureate (to **30** students per teacher, down from **35**). It also contemplates a cap of **15** students in basic Vocational Training, counting students with specific needs double, and an increase in resources for guidance and student well-being.

The 2026-2027 school year begins with teacher strikes in several autonomous communities.
The percentage of teachers viewing their profession with indifference has risen from 2% to 38% between 2007 and 2025.
The number of students with special educational needs has grown by more than 75% in six years.
Efforts are underway to reduce class sizes in primary and secondary education to a maximum of 22 and 25 students, respectively.
The Ministry of Education plans to lower Early Childhood and Baccalaureate ratios via Royal Decree.

Fundación SM, CCOO, CSIF, Milagros Tolón, Congress, Senate, Comunitat Valenciana, Madrid, Andalusia, Cantabria, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Castile and León, Navarre, Catalonia.