Project that creates incentives for high school students goes to sanction

The Senate plenary approved this Wednesday (20) the bill that intends to grant a financial incentive similar to a savings account to encourage high school students to stay in school and complete their studies. The text authored by deputy Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP) was reported by senator Teresa Leitão (PT-PE) and now awaits sanction from the President of the Republic.

According to the proposal, the initiative seeks to benefit low-income students enrolled in public secondary education, belonging to families registered in the Single Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government (CadÚnico), with priority for those with a monthly family income of up to R $218 per person.

Rapporteur Teresa Leitão stated that the objective is to encourage students to remain in school, especially those in vulnerable situations, “focusing on broad training, with higher quality and an increasingly decent secondary education”.

The financial incentive will be granted through deposits into an account in the student’s name, linked to compliance with steps and movement restrictions. The project establishes criteria for access to the benefit, including enrollment at the beginning of the school year, school attendance of 80% of school hours, approval at the end of each school year, participation in assessments, among others.

The text points out that, within three years after implementing the incentive, the minimum school attendance requirement will be increased to 85% of total school hours. It will be up to the Ministry of Education to verify that the student complies with these conditions.

The total amount allocated to the fund that will finance the incentive is R$20 billion, with R$13 billion coming from the financial surplus of the Social Fund, created to receive resources from pre-salt oil exploration. The fund will be managed by a federal bank, and may also rely on unused resources from other government funds.

In case of non-compliance with the conditions, students must return the resources to the fund, with the exception of incentives for enrollment and attendance, which have freedom of movement.

The project highlights that the money received will not influence the calculation of family income for other social assistance benefits, but it cannot be accumulated with the Continuous Payment Benefit (BPC) or with Bolsa Família in single-person families.