She started in politics in 1987 as head of the cabinet of the Regional minister of Education, Universities and Research José Ramón Recalde. After the brief interregnum of the coalition government PNV-EA-EE of 1991, she was vice-minister of Education, Universities and Research with Fernando Buesa as Basque counselor until the end of the legislature (1995).[1] In the following legislature she abandoned the educational responsibilities, being director of the cabinet of the Counselor of Justice, Economy, Labor and Social Security, Ramón Jáuregui. Between 1998 and 2009 and 2012 and 2016, she has been a member of the Basque Parliament for Province of Vizcaya.[2] As a parliamentarian, she was responsible for the educational issues of her group. Between 2008 and 2009 she was the first vice president of the Basque Parliament. From 2009 to 2012 she held the position of Counselor of Education, Universities and Research in the government of Patxi López,[3][2][n. 1] She is particularly interested in the improvement of the Basque educational system and technology, and advocates scientific research.[4][5]
She was head of list of the PSE-EE to the Senate by the circumscription of Vizcaya in the general elections of 2015[6] and 2016[7] but she was not elected.
^Celaá, who does not have Basque surnames, was abused in May 2010 at the Bermeo School Festival, being met with cries of "dirty foreigner go home" (Maketa gogoan zaitez etxera) (Castells, 2014; cfr. Molina & Quiroga 2019, p. 107)