Originally published in Worthy News
A Brazilian court has sentenced a mother and father to 50 days in prison for homeschooling their two daughters, a landmark ruling that has intensified concerns over parental rights, religious freedom, and the growing power of the state over family life.
Audato and Ieda Denardi, of São Paulo, were convicted of “intellectual neglect” after choosing to educate their daughters, Alice, 15, and Lorena, 11, at home. The family began homeschooling in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic after becoming dissatisfied with the quality of remote learning offered through Brazil’s public education system.
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The couple believed they were making a responsible parental decision to provide their children with a stronger academic foundation and an education shaped by their family’s values. But prosecutors initially treated the matter as a failure to enroll the children in a formal, state-accredited school.
The case took a dramatic turn when the judge convicted the parents despite the prosecutor reportedly recommending acquittal. An independent educational psychologist also found no evidence that the children had been neglected, according to Alliance Defending Freedom International, which is assisting the family’s appeal.
The ruling makes the Denardis the first parents in Brazil to face a criminal conviction for homeschooling.
In his written decision, the judge accused the couple of “using their daughters as pawns in an ideological struggle” while “completely excluding the State’s involvement.” The court also faulted the family’s curriculum for allegedly failing to include state-approved material on “gender and sex education” and “tolerance and diversity.”
The decision further cited the girls’ cultural preferences, including their lack of interest in certain popular music genres, as evidence that they had not received adequate cultural instruction. Both daughters, however, are described as accomplished pianists who speak multiple languages and have maintained a rigorous daily education.
Julio Pohl, legal counsel for Latin America at ADF International, said the conviction was not rooted in educational failure but in disagreement with the parents’ values.
“The prosecutor examined the witnesses and recommended acquittal. An independent educational psychologist found no sign of neglect. The girls themselves described rigorous daily education,” Pohl said. “The judge convicted anyway — because a 15-year-old said she finds some music lyrics morally questionable, and because the curriculum didn’t include state-approved content on gender.”
Pohl called the ruling “a grotesque abuse of the criminal law.”
Ieda Denardi said the state’s actions struck at the heart of parental authority.
“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,” she 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 sentence has been suspended while the Denardis appeal to the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo.
Brazil’s homeschooling legal battle
The case comes amid a long-running national dispute over homeschooling in Brazil. In 2018, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that homeschooling was not explicitly forbidden by the Constitution, but said federal legislation was needed to regulate the practice before it could be fully recognized under Brazilian law.
That legal vacuum has left homeschooling families vulnerable to sanctions and court action. Until the Denardi case, however, disputes over homeschooling were generally treated as administrative matters rather than criminal offenses.
Brazil’s House of Representatives passed legislation in 2022 that would authorize homeschooling under certain conditions, including school monitoring, curriculum requirements, and periodic assessments. But the bill has stalled in the Senate, leaving thousands of families in legal uncertainty.
Homeschool advocates say the Denardi conviction shows the danger of allowing the state to define education so narrowly that parents can be punished not for failing their children, but for teaching them outside government-approved ideological boundaries.
For Christian families and others who seek to educate their children according to their convictions, the case has become a warning sign far beyond Brazil. At stake, supporters say, is whether parents retain the primary right to guide the formation, education, and moral instruction of their children — or whether that authority ultimately belongs to the state.
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