Homeschool Parents in Brazil Sentenced to 50 Days in Jail for Educating Their Own Children

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A shocking case out of Brazil has sent ripples through the international homeschooling community after two homeschooling parents were sentenced to nearly two months in jail for doing what millions of families around the world take for granted.

The case involves Brazilian parents Audato and Ieda Denardi, who homeschool their daughters and were sentenced to jail time by a São Paulo court because their home education curricula did not include programs on “gender and sex education” and “tolerance and diversity” – and because their daughters were not properly taught specific types of music, according to ADF International, which is representing the parents. The girls, ages 15 and 11, are pianists and speak multiple languages.

The parents were convicted of “intellectual neglect” and sentenced to 50 days in jail.

They are appealing the ruling to the highest court in the state.

“As a mother, I cannot conceive a more dictatorial state than the one that wants me in jail because I chose to exercise my right to direct the education and upbringing of my daughters,” the mother said. “My husband and I are hopeful the court will recognize our right to choose the best education for our children and overturn this unjust conviction.”

The judge accused the parents of “using their daughters as pawns in an ideological struggle, subjecting them to a form of unregulated education, the effectiveness and quality of which lack adequate metrics within the Brazilian legal system, while completely excluding the State’s involvement.”

Homeschooling exists in a legal gray area in Brazil, even though an estimated 70,000 children are educated at home. In 2018, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that homeschooling is not prohibited by the Constitution but said Congress must pass legislation establishing rules and oversight for the practice. No such law has been enacted.

The Denardis are the first parents in Brazil “to be criminally convicted” for homeschooling their children, ADF International said.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Akarawut Lohacharoenvanich

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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