Association counters Alckmin’s criticism of homeschooling

ANED (National Home Education Association) classified as prejudiced the speech by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) about home education, also called homeschooling.

“Aned declares that the speech proves to be prejudiced and propagates untruths, as there is no shortage of evidence that demonstrates that there are many families who practice home education precisely to teach their children to be more tolerant and kind to everyone around them”, said the entity , in a repudiation note released on Friday (1).

On Wednesday (28), Alckmin criticized homeschooling, saying that the method has “racist” origins and that it was invented in the United States to separate white children from schools attended by black people. “The MEC was over. What was there was homeschooling. This is a racist proposal that was invented in the United States because [diziam] ‘look, if there are black people at school, my son won’t go to school, he will study at home’. How can that be?” asked the vice-president, in an interview with GloboNews.

The association’s note reminds us that domestic education is much older than public or private schools, and that more than 65 countries already recognize this type of education.

ANED also presents data that refute Alckmin’s statement. “Many choose homeschooling due to bullying and prejudice in the school environment,” says the statement, which asks Alckmin to retract his statements.

The ANED text presents data showing that a significant number of families belonging to racial minorities have opted for homeschooling — and that these children perform better than those in the traditional education system.

Constitution does not veto, but current law does not provide for homeschooling

In October last year, the STF (Supreme Federal Court) invalidated a state law in Santa Catarina that allowed home education. The Supreme Court reaffirmed the understanding that, although it does not directly contradict the Constitution, the practice can only be authorized by federal law.

A proposal to regulate home education in Brazil was approved in the Chamber of Deputies under the administration of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), but ended up not advancing in the Federal Senate.

After more than 10 years of debates, the home education bill was approved in the Chamber in May 2022 and sent to the Senate. In 2023, senators held public hearings to address the issue, within the scope of the Education Commission, but the proposal was not voted on.