Which of Nikolas’ projects on education were approved during his term as councilor

Federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), elected president of the Education Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, had three projects focused on education approved during his term as councilor of Belo Horizonte (MG). He left the City Council in 2022, when he was elected federal deputy for the state.

Nikolas’ choice to head the Education Commission was criticized by the Lula government’s base. Parliamentarians opposed to the Liberal Party’s nomination for the collegiate pointed out that Nikolas did not present any project aimed at education in Brasília. So far, the federal deputy has presented two of his own projects and is co-author of five others as co-author, however, none of them are about education.

“It’s my first term, obviously, it will be a challenge to chair the commission, I’ve never chaired it before, so no one can say anything about my work. What I can analyze is the previous work… I left [uma posição] from debater to moderator. There will be democracy in our commission”, said the deputy about the criticism in an interview with CNN Brazil.

Ban on neutral language in schools

In his first term as councilor, Nikolas presented the bill that prohibits the teaching of so-called neutral language in public and private schools in Belo Horizonte. The proposal, approved by the City Council in two rounds, was vetoed by Mayor Fuad Noman (PSD), who claimed the text was unconstitutional, but the veto was overturned by councilors in August last year. The PL was promulgated as Law 11,581/2023.

In neutral language, the thematic vowel and the article are replaced, with this, the word “todos”, for example, gives way to the expression “todes”, devoid of gender marking. According to the BH City Council, the rule establishes administrative sanctions for schools in case of non-compliance with the provisions set out in the text. “In BH, there are no longer Elu and Todes. The Portuguese language will be respected. May my law be an example for all of Brazil”, said Nikolas on social media at the time of the proposal’s approval.

Possibility of enrolling siblings in the same school

The parliamentarian was the co-author of the project that guarantees the right to priority enrollment of siblings in the same school unit in the capital of Minas Gerais. The text, presented in 2022, was approved as Law 11451/2023, published in the Official Gazette of the Municipality (DOM) in January last year and came into force in 2024.

The rule guarantees preference for enrollment in the school closest to the student’s residence and, if this unit does not have classes at the desired educational levels for the siblings, it ensures enrollment in institutions with the shortest possible distance between them.

Financial education in city schools

In 2021, Nikolas also managed to approve, as co-author, the proposal that includes financial education in the curriculum of municipal schools. Law 11328/2021, sanctioned by the then mayor Alexandre Kalil, establishes “Entrepreneurship and Notions of Law and Citizenship as topics to be covered in the after-school hours of municipal comprehensive education schools”.

This year, the parliamentarian highlighted that the Education Committee of the Chamber of Deputies should debate topics such as the National Education Plan, Safety in Schools, strengthening Basic Education and homeschooling.