Spartanburg, Pickens, and Anderson County students will be headed back to school this week.

Oconee, Laurens, Pickens, and Union County students start back to school on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Anderson and Spartanburg County students start back to school on Thursday, Aug. 6.

It's time to shop for backpacks, lunchboxes, and other back-to-school essentials. Tax-Free Weekend, Friday, Aug. 7-Sunday, Aug. 9, would be the ideal time to shop for these items, when residents won't have to pay state or local sales tax.

Here are the start dates for each Upstate county, according to the South Carolina Department of Education, along with recommended dates to register new kindergarten students.

Laurens County District 55 (Kindergarten registration: May enroll anytime).

Laurens County District 56 (Kindergarten registration: May enroll anytime).

Oconee County (Kindergarten registration: Begins July 20).

Pickens County (Kindergarten registration: May enroll anytime).

Union County (Kindergarten registration: May enroll anytime).

More: SC's tax free weekend is coming up, here's what items are exempt

Notebooks, crayons and water bottles for partipants during the Back to School Bash 2026 Friday, July 31, 2026, at Anderson Mall in Anderson, S.C. The free community event helped families prepare for the upcoming school year. The Value Village, the Anderson County Coroner's Office, and Regional Workforce Advisors of South Carolina organized the annual event.
Notebooks, crayons and water bottles for partipants during the Back to School Bash 2026 Friday, July 31, 2026, at Anderson Mall in Anderson, S.C. The free community event helped families prepare for the upcoming school year. The Value Village, the Anderson County Coroner's Office, and Regional Workforce Advisors of South Carolina organized the annual event.

Anderson County District 1 (Kindergarten registration: On or before Sept. 1).

Anderson County District 2 (Kindergarten registration: By Sept. 1).

Anderson County District 3 (Kindergarten registration: On or before Sept. 1).

Anderson County District 4 (Kindergarten registration: By Sept. 1).

Anderson County District 5 (Kindergarten registration: On or before Sept. 1).

Spartanburg County District 1 (Kindergarten registration: Before the first day of school, although registration is open throughout the year).

Spartanburg County District 2 (Kindergarten registration: Awaiting district response).

Spartanburg County District 3 (Kindergarten registration: By June 23).

Spartanburg County District 4 (Kindergarten registration: Begins July 27).

Spartanburg County District 5 (Kindergarten registration: On or before Sept. 1).

Spartanburg County District 6 (Kindergarten registration: By Sept. 1).

Spartanburg County District 7 (Kindergarten registration: Awaiting district response).

Cherokee County (Kindergarten registration: May enroll anytime).

Greenville County (Kindergarten registration: On or before Sept. 1).

Nina Tran is the breaking news and education reporter for The Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her via email at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens schools start back this week. See dates