Online School & Homeschool in Bolivia

Live online Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma, and American AP for agro-industrial, mining, gas, development-sector and Bolivian families across Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba, Tarija and Potosí. Bolivia has a strict statute and a real working practice — Ley 070 makes education compulsory to bachillerato, while colegios sombrilla operate under the online-education regulation — and we explain both, including exactly where we do and do not fit.

From USD 423/month. Small live classes 4-6 students, Cambridge / IB / American AP through to A-Level — alongside your Bolivian school or umbrella arrangement.

Where our Bolivia families are

Smartious Bolivia families concentrate across Santa Cruz de la Sierra (the economic capital, soy and cattle at export scale, and the country's strongest international tier), La Paz and El Alto (the seat of government, the diplomatic corps and one of South America's largest development sectors), Cochabamba (the valley university and agro-processing centre with a long missionary and NGO presence), Tarija (the southern gas fields and a high-altitude wine industry), and Potosí, Uyuni and the southwest (five centuries of mining and one of the largest lithium resources on earth). One strict statute, one working umbrella-school practice, and a seven-hour offset that works.

Homeschool laws and regulation in Bolivia

Bolivia has the strictest statutory framing in our Latin American coverage and, at the same time, one of the most practical working arrangements. Both belong on this page, and so does the line between what a Bolivian umbrella school does and what we do.

Ley 070 and how strictly it reads

The Ley de la Educación "Avelino Siñani – Elizardo Pérez" of 20 December 2010 governs Bolivian education. Article 1 establishes education as a right at all levels — universal, productive, free, integral and intercultural — and as a supreme function and first financial responsibility of the State, which has an indeclinable obligation to sustain, guarantee and manage it; it provides that the State and society have full guardianship, tuición plena, over the education system. Education is compulsory up to bachillerato and fiscal education is free at all levels. That is the strongest statist framing we encounter anywhere in Latin America, and we would not soften it for a family.

Educación Regular, and one provision that reads more openly

Article 85 structures the system into subsystems, and the Subsistema de Educación Regular set out in articles 9 to 15 is described as systematic, regulated, obligatory and processual, running from Educación Inicial en Familia Comunitaria through Educación Primaria Comunitaria Vocacional to Educación Secundaria Comunitaria Productiva. One provision reads differently from the rest: Educación Inicial en Familia Comunitaria recognises and strengthens the family and community as the first space of socialisation and learning, and its first stage is described as non-schooled and of shared family and community responsibility. Commentary notes, fairly, that this is largely nominal in practice because pre-school libretas are still requested. The compulsory range is reported as roughly five to seventeen; confirm the current boundaries with the Ministerio de Educación.

What that has meant in practice, and rulings both ways

Commentary reads the Constitution and Ley 070 together as requiring formal education in qualified centres, with possible sanctions for non-attendance. It also reports that in Bolivia — as in Paraguay — without clear mention in the norms, there have been rulings both in favour of and against educating at home. We give that as the honest state of things: a strict statute, no explicit home-education provision, and a judicial picture that has not settled.

The colegios sombrilla, which are the practical answer here

This is the most useful part of the page for a Bolivian family, and it is rarely explained properly. The government issued a regulation covering online education within educación regular, and under it a number of Bolivian schools began working with the homeschooling community in the eje troncal — La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba — operating as colegios sombrilla, or umbrella schools. Community sources also record that in 2018 a formal agreement was concluded with a Bolivian school acting as curriculum provider, though it did not resolve every question. What an umbrella school provides is the Bolivian side of the arrangement: the enrolment, the national curriculum coverage, and the domestic record. Families outside the three main cities should ask specifically whether an arrangement is open to them rather than assume it, since the practice developed in the eje troncal.

Where we sit, stated precisely

Smartious is not authorised by the Bolivian Ministerio de Educación, does not operate premises in Bolivia, and issues no Bolivian qualification. We are not an umbrella school and cannot substitute for one. What we teach are Cambridge IGCSE and A-Level, Pearson Edexcel, the IB Diploma and Advanced Placement — internationally examined qualifications read directly by universities abroad, which a Bolivian domestic record cannot substitute for at a foreign admissions office. So the two services are complementary rather than alternative: the umbrella school or ordinary school carries Bolivia, and we carry the international track. A family aiming at university outside Bolivia frequently needs both, and we would rather draw that line clearly than let anyone assume we cover the domestic side.

The timezone, and a country that is hard to cross

Bolivia runs BOT at UTC-4 with no daylight saving against our UTC+3, a fixed seven-hour gap — the same as the Dominican Republic and materially better than Costa Rica, Guatemala or Mexico at nine. Bolivian morning and very early afternoon classes both fall in our teaching day, and with schools commonly running turno mañana and tarde, most students have one window genuinely free. That matters more here than the arithmetic suggests: Bolivia is landlocked, divided by altitude and genuinely hard to travel, so for families in Potosí, Uyuni or the southern gas fields, reaching a campus can mean a flight rather than a drive — and live delivery closes that distance without a move.

Why Bolivia families choose Smartious

We work alongside a colegio sombrilla, not against one

Umbrella schools carry the Bolivian enrolment and curriculum; we carry the internationally examined track. Complementary services, and we say so rather than implying we cover both.

The statute stated without softening

Ley 070 makes education compulsory to bachillerato and Educación Regular expressly obligatory, with the State holding full guardianship over the system. We do not dress that down.

Tarija and the southwest reached

The gas fields and the lithium region carry Bolivia's economy and have no international schooling at all.

The mining cohort, four continents deep

Potosí sits in the same live classes as Antofagasta, Arequipa, Kolwezi and the Copperbelt — one subject spine, one examination board, full portability.

Seven hours in a country hard to cross

Mornings and very early afternoons both work, which matters where reaching a campus means a flight rather than a drive.

Kenya CBC for the development sector

La Paz's rotating development community often arrives from or departs to East Africa, and CBC continuity is a real option here rather than a token one.

Fees and admission

From USD 423/month for Primary, payable termly; varies by curriculum and level. One-to-one tuition: USD 15/hour.

Frequently asked questions

Is homeschooling legal in Bolivia?

Ley 070, the Avelino Siñani – Elizardo Pérez law of 2010, makes education compulsory up to bachillerato and describes Educación Regular as systematic, regulated, obligatory and processual, with article 1 giving the State and society full guardianship over the education system. Commentary reads the framework as requiring formal education in qualified centres with possible sanctions for non-attendance, and reports rulings going both ways. In practice, a regulation for online education has allowed some Bolivian schools to work with homeschooling families as colegios sombrilla. Confirm your own position with the Ministerio de Educación.

What is a colegio sombrilla?

A Bolivian umbrella school that carries the enrolment, national curriculum coverage and domestic record for a family educating largely at home. The practice developed under the government's online-education regulation in La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. Families elsewhere should ask specifically whether an arrangement is available rather than assume it.

Are you an umbrella school, or do you replace one?

Neither. We are not authorised by the Bolivian Ministerio de Educación and issue no Bolivian qualification. We teach Cambridge, Edexcel, IB and AP toward international examinations. The two services are complementary — the umbrella school covers Bolivia, we cover the international track — and families aiming abroad often need both.

Why would we need an international qualification as well?

Because a Bolivian domestic record is assessed by foreign universities through recognition procedures, whereas Cambridge A-Levels, the IB Diploma and AP records are read directly. If your child will apply abroad, that difference is the whole argument.

Does the compulsory range really run to bachillerato?

Yes — Ley 070 makes education compulsory up to bachillerato, with the range reported as roughly five to seventeen. Confirm the current boundaries for your child with the Ministerio de Educación.

How does the timezone work?

Seven hours, fixed — the same as the Dominican Republic and better than most of our Latin American markets. Bolivian mornings and very early afternoons both land in our teaching day, and turno mañana/tarde leaves most students one window free.

Where do Bolivian students sit Cambridge examinations?

At authorised provision confirmed per family per session — Santa Cruz first, with options in La Paz and Cochabamba and travel planned well ahead from Tarija and the southwest, since Bolivia is genuinely hard to cross.

Which parts of Bolivia does Smartious cover?

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, La Paz and El Alto, Cochabamba, Tarija and the southern gas fields, and Potosí, Uyuni and the southwest have dedicated pages. Live online delivery works identically anywhere in the country.

Guides for families in this country

What parents say

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