Senate Education Committee approves new high school; Project goes to plenary vote
Bill 5,230/23 was submitted to a symbolic vote on Wednesday (19). The main changes include an increase in the workload of mandatory subjects from 2,100 to 2,400 hours, as well as the inclusion of Spanish as a third language.
The text now goes to the Senate for a vote, before proceeding to presidential sanction - Photo Reproduction/Tiago Queiroz/Estadão
The Education Committee and culture of the Federal Senate approved this Wednesday (19), in a vote symbolic, the bill that establishes a new model for secondary education in Brazil. The proposal was sent by the government to Congress in October last year and in March this year was approved by the Chamber of Deputies. It was then forwarded to the Senate. The text now goes to a vote in the Senate plenary, where it will undergo a final evaluation before proceeding to presidential approval.
Main Proposed Changes
The text approved by the Commission was the report by professor Dorinha Seabra (União-TO), which was read for the first time last week. On Tuesday (18), the bill was scheduled to be voted on, but amendments to the text were presented and the senator made some changes, including the resumption of the basic workload of 2,400 hours of basic training (FGB) for high school. On Tuesday, the changes were presented and senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) requested additional time to analyze the text.
This Wednesday, the senator accepted some more amendments related to the project. In addition to the favorable opinion on the proposal, an urgent request to speed up the analysis of the text by the plenary was also approved during the committee meeting. The government's proposal, approved by the Chamber in March, provided for a common (mandatory) curriculum with 2,400 hours and specific subjects with 600 hours. However, in the report presented by senator Professor Dorinha last week, a total of 2,200 hours was established for basic general training and 800 hours for optional subjects.
These extra hours are dedicated to deepening in some area of knowledge or technical and professional training. After a meeting with the Ministry of Education (MEC), the senator brought back 2,400 hours for basic general training, as mentioned in the document read today. In relation to technical education, the Chamber's original text provided for 2,100 hours of basic general training and 900 hours for specific subjects.
In the report, it was defined that basic general training in Technical Secondary Education will have a minimum of 2.2 thousand hours from 2025 onwards. Furthermore, it was established that, from 2029 onwards, the total workload of technical secondary education courses must be increased from 3 thousand hours to 3.2 thousand, 3.4 thousand and 3.6 thousand hours, respectively, when dealing with technical courses of 800, 1 thousand and 1.2 thousand hours. The senator maintained the inclusion of Spanish as a mandatory high school course in the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), in accordance with what was proposed in the previous report.
The law that establishes the educational regime determines that all students must take subjects aligned with the BNCC, which comprises basic training with fundamental knowledge, skills, abilities and learning planned for children and young people at each stage of basic education. Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to choose optional subjects according to their personal interests, known as training itineraries, which may include projects, workshops and study groups.
Furthermore, Students have the option of choosing a technical or professional training. In these cases, basic training remains mandatory, but upon completing high school, the student will receive certification in the chosen technical or professional course. The combined workload of basic training and training itineraries must total 3,000 hours over the three years of high school.
Other Changes
Deputy Mendonça Filho (União Brasil-PE), added a provision that allows educational institutions to authorize professionals with "noted knowledge" — that is, without formal academic training — to teach classes exclusively in technical and professional subjects. Representative Seabra, the main rapporteur of the proposal, kept this provision in the text, however, she established that this authorization can only occur exceptionally and upon justification by the education system, in accordance with the regulations of the national and state Education councils.
The rapporteur also established guidelines for institutions to implement Distance Learning (EaD). Seabra determined that this model can only be authorized in "exceptional emergency situations recognized by the competent authorities".
