Low-income families who are unable to enroll their children in day care centers or public or partnered preschools may start to receive financial aid to enroll them in private institutions.
Authorization for municipalities and the Federal District to create the benefit is provided for in the Senate Bill (PLS) 466/2018, which can be voted on next Wednesday (3) in Plenary.
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The text had an urgent request approved by the senators and would be voted on this Tuesday (2), but the vote was postponed at the request of Senator Cid Gomes (PDT-CE). He asked for more time to review the project. The concern was that there would be a transfer of resources from public education to the private sector.
The author of the text, senator José Serra (PSDB-SP), said that this was not the intention of the text.
“It is not about transferring resources from public education to the private sector. It has nothing to do. It is about covering the poorest families.”
According to him, among the poorest 20% of the population, one third of children from zero to three years old do not have day care. Serra points out that these first years are decisive for the development of children.
The rapporteur, senator Rose de Freitas (Pode-ES) agrees. For her, cognitive development in early childhood cannot be left out. The senator also explained that the project does not generate mandatory expenses, it only gives an option to mayors, if they can grant the benefit.
According to the project, the mayors and the governor of the DF are authorized to create the program, as long as there are resources available. The aid will be distributed to Bolsa Família beneficiaries who have children from 0 to 5 years old and who are not enrolled in public or affiliated teaching units.
Families whose parents do not receive daycare or preschool aid from the companies they work for could receive the benefit. The value of the aid will be determined by the mayor or governor of the DF. It cannot consume resources already allocated to public basic education.
In addition, it may be readjusted annually by the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA). The text does not make it mandatory, but only presents the possibility of readjustment. In order to maintain the aid, parents must prove the monthly payment of the private day care center.
The text also determines that, if there is a lack of vacancies in public or associated education units childcare, education systems will have to disclose, each school year, via the internet, the criteria adopted for the registration.
