The Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights drafted a first version of the provisional measure that will regulate homeschooling in the country.
In a note, the ministry explains that the details should only be disclosed when the text is finalized, as it may undergo changes in the Civil House and in the National Congress.
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The minister in charge of the portfolio, Damares Alves, highlighted that, although the subject belongs to the field of education, "it is a family demand", and should therefore be suggested by the ministry in charge.
“We understand that it is the right of parents to decide on their children's education, it is a matter of human rights. So, the initiative comes out of this ministry under this aspect. It's a human rights issue too. And we are signatories of the Pact of San José, Costa Rica, which guarantees this to families,” he said, according to the press office.
Last year, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided not to recognize homeschooling of children. For the Court, the Constitution only provides for the public or private education model, whose enrollment is mandatory, and there is no law authorizing the measure.
According to the rationale adopted by the majority of ministers, the request made in the appeal, which discussed the possibility of home schooling being considered lawful, cannot be accepted, since there is no legislation that regulates precepts and rules applicable to this type of teaching.
During the discussion at the STF, last year, the Advocacy-General of the Union (AGU) and the Attorney-General of the Republic were against homeschooling.
The PGR understood that “the use of homeschooling instruments and methods for children and adolescents of school age, in replacement of education in school establishments, by choice of parents or guardians, does not find its own basis in the Constitution Federal".
Regulating the right to home education, known as homeschooling, is among the 35 priority goals of the first 100 days of the Jair Bolsonaro government.
The demand for regulation of home schooling was taken to the government by the National Association of Home Education (Aned). The president of the association, Ricardo Dias, says that he contacted the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights. According to him, the agenda was well received by both ministries, but it was decided that the second would be responsible for ensuring the regulation.
“We suggested an MP. We went to the government in view of the situation that the STF left families in a kind of legal limbo. It was a very strange decision, even a little paradoxical. What the STF said is that the Constitution does not prohibit, but neither does it guarantee. To guarantee it, there must be a law and if there is a law, ok ”, he says.
The entity participated in the construction of the provisional measure. According to Dias, it is a simple text, whose main objective is not to impose major restrictions on homeschooling, such as requiring, for example, training in pedagogy. He estimates that more than 90% of parents who educate their children at home do not have this training.
According to the president of Aned, the suggested text should guarantee children who study at home the same rights as the others, such as a student ID and the right to pay half price on attractions cultural. In addition, it must provide for a national registry of families who opt for this type of education.
“We are in favor of having some kind of record. This is important, so as not to be confused with school evasion”, says Dias, adding that this would help in the inspection by the government.
The latest Aned survey, from 2018, shows that 7,500 families educate their children at home – a number that represents more than double the 3,200 families identified in 2016. It is estimated that 15,000 children receive home schooling. The government estimate is that 31,000 families are fans of the modality.
If the provisional measure is approved, homeschooling will have to be regulated by the National Education Council (CNE). In 2000, the council issued an opinion directing children and adolescents to be enrolled in duly authorized schools.
The CNE also understands that the current legislation emphasizes “the importance of exchanging experiences, of exercising reciprocal tolerance, not under the control of of parents but in the coexistence of classrooms, school corridors, recreational spaces, on group excursions outside of school, in the organization of sporting, literary or sociability activities, which demand more than just siblings, so that they reproduce society, where citizenship will be exercised”.
Sought by Agência Brasil, the CNE says that this is the last position of the collegiate that still has not had access to the text of the provisional measure. The issue is on the agenda of the CNE, which held seminars and meetings on the subject last year.
