Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, created The Primary School in 2016 through their philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school said in April 2025 that it would close by the end of the 2026 academic year.
The Primary School is a tuition-free private school with locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. According to its website, it serves hundreds of students and works to more closely connect parents, teachers, and medical and mental health professionals.
The school’s website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its closure was announced at the same time some of Zuckerberg’s other ventures rolled back DEI efforts. Meta dropped many of its DEI initiatives in January 2025, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ended its own DEI efforts one month later.
A message announcing the closure on the school website says that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will invest $50 million in surrounding communities in the coming years, including savings plans for soon-to-be former students and “transition specialists” for families.
Zuckerberg and Chan ran into issues with another school they ran in California, as the New York Times first reported. A spokesperson for Palo Alto, Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, confirmed to BI that the city received a code violation complaint at the property “regarding use as a private school without a conditional use permit.” She said the city no longer thinks the school is operating at that location.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg and Chan told BI that it is not a private school but a homeschooling operation that began during the pandemic. State affidavits don’t allow for a distinction between a homeschool and a typical private school, they said, and added that parents teach many of the subjects, the spokesperson said.
Zuckerberg and Chan plan to move the children to a location outside of their home, according to the spokesperson, who said city officials have confirmed that homeschooling is allowed in residential zones in Palo Alto.
“They value being members of the community and have taken a number of steps above and beyond any local requirements to avoid disruption in the neighborhood,” the spokesperson said of Zuckerberg and Chan.
Zuckerberg was worth $266.8 billion as of September 19, according to Forbes.
