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Brazil doesn't allow homeschooling yet. The Supreme Federal Court ruled in 2018 that it needs a federal law, and the bill to create one has been waiting in the Senate since 2022.
This guide covers what Brazilian law requires of parents, where the bill stands, what it means for foreign families, and how students in Brazil can still work towards international qualifications.
Not yet. Brazilian law requires parents to enrol children in school, and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has held that homeschooling can't replace enrolment until Congress passes a federal law.
| Law or ruling | What it says |
|---|---|
| Federal Constitution, article 208 | Basic education is compulsory and free from age 4 to 17 |
| LDB, Law 9,394/1996, article 6 | Parents must enrol their children in basic education from age 4 |
| ECA, Law 8,069/1990, article 55 | Parents must enrol their children in the regular school system |
| LDB, article 32 | Primary education (ensino fundamental) is taught in person, with distance learning used only to complement it or in emergencies |
| Penal Code, article 246 | Failing, without just cause, to provide a school-age child's primary education is a crime (abandono intelectual), punishable by 15 days to one month's detention or a fine |
| STF, RE 888815 (Tema 822), 2018 | Without a federal law regulating it, homeschooling isn't a lawful way for families to meet their duty to educate their children |
| STF, RE 1492951, 2025 | State, district and municipal homeschooling laws are unconstitutional, because only the federal government can legislate on the guidelines and bases of education |
The STF didn't declare homeschooling unconstitutional in 2018. It found that no law regulated it, so families couldn't use it to meet their legal duty. In March 2025 the court's First Panel applied the same reasoning to the Federal District's homeschooling law, and in August 2026 a majority of the full court voted the same way on the district's appeal.
Under the ECA, schools report repeated unexplained absences to the local Conselho Tutelar (guardianship council), and public prosecutors have brought cases against homeschooling families. If you're thinking of taking a child out of school in Brazil, speak to a Brazilian education lawyer first.
Congress has debated regulating homeschooling for years, and one bill has passed the Chamber of Deputies.
PL 1338/2022 on the Senate websiteThe Chamber of Deputies approved PL 3179/2012 in May 2022 and sent it to the Senate, where it became PL 1338/2022. It would amend the LDB and the ECA to allow basic education to be delivered at home.
Senator Professora Dorinha Seabra, the rapporteur in the Senate Education Committee, published a report in favour of the bill in October 2025, keeping the text the Chamber approved.
Home-educated students would be enrolled at a school that monitors their progress and would follow the national curriculum content. Parents or tutors teaching them would need higher or technical education and a clean criminal record.
The committee hasn't voted. A group of senators asked for urgency in July 2026, but press reports expect no vote before the committee's leadership changes in 2027. If the Senate passes the text unchanged, it goes to the President for sanction.
Brazilian law doesn't set different schooling rules for foreign residents.
Foreign students' right to a school placeThe enrolment duty in the ECA and the LDB covers children living in Brazil, and the Constitution extends its guarantees to foreigners resident in the country. Foreign children have a right to a school place, with or without records from their previous school.
Many expatriate families choose private international schools in Brazil. These are part of the Brazilian school system and often teach Cambridge or IB programmes alongside Brazilian requirements.
An online school based outside Brazil isn't part of the Brazilian school system. If you live in Brazil, take legal advice before relying on one as your child's only school.
A student can stay enrolled at a Brazilian school and add International GCSE or A Level subjects, sat as a private candidate. It keeps the family within the law and builds qualifications for university abroad.
