ADF International
A Brazilian couple has been sentenced to 50 days in jail for homeschooling their daughters according to their own beliefs and not introducing them to gender ideology. Audato and Ieda Denardi were convicted of “intellectual neglect” after a court concluded that the education they provided at home failed to include programs on “gender and sex education” and “tolerance and diversity.”
The girls, aged 15 and 11, have been educated at home since 2020. Despite the girls being accomplished pianists and speaking multiple languages, the court determined that their educational experience was insufficient in certain areas deemed important by the state. The judge also cited what he considered a lack of cultural exposure, pointing to the fact that the couple’s daughters did not enjoy listening to trap [a subgenre of hip-hop] or sertanejo music.
The couple decided to begin homeschooling in 2020 after becoming dissatisfied with the public education system during pandemic-era remote learning. Since making that decision, they say they have witnessed significant improvements in their daughters’ academic performance while also being able to incorporate their faith and personal values into their education.
“As a mother, I cannot conceive of 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,” Ieda Denardi responded to the ruling.
The conviction came despite the prosecutor recommending that the parents be acquitted. After hearing testimony and examining the girls’ social and academic development, the prosecutor concluded that the children had not been neglected.
“The prosecutor examined the witnesses and recommended acquittal. An independent educational psychologist found no sign of neglect. The girls themselves described rigorous daily education,” Julio Pohl, Legal Counsel for Latin America at ADF International, criticized.
Nevertheless, the judge ruled against the family. In his decision, he accused the parents of “using their daughters as pawns in an ideological struggle,” arguing that they had subjected the girls to an educational model that operated outside state oversight and lacked established legal metrics within Brazil’s education system.
“A parent has been sentenced to prison not for failing to educate her children, but for educating them according to her own values. This is a grotesque abuse of the criminal law, and we will not let it stand,” said Pohl, representing the family in the case.
The sentence has been suspended, pending appeal.
Until now, homeschooling disputes had generally been treated as administrative matters related to school registration requirements. According to supporters of the family, the Denardis are the first parents in Brazil to receive a criminal conviction for homeschooling their children.