José Henrique Paim Fernandes
Economist and professor
Director of FGV DGPE
Former Minister of Education (2014-2015)
José Henrique Paim Fernandes
Economist and professor
Director of FGV DGPE
Former Minister of Education (2014-2015)
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 | n°.4 | The initiative brings advances by providing integration between states and the federal government to establish national guidelines for the sector but will face challenges in its implementation.
PHOTO: ADOBESTOCK
With the recent approval of Complementary Bill No. 235/2019 in the Federal Senate, the National Education System (SNE) is established in Brazil. It will join the Unified Health System (SUS) and the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) to complete the country’s social policy framework. The SNE will represent a significant advance in Brazilian education standards and will drive the collaboration between federal entities, already in place thanks to the federative pact, the collaborative education system defined by the 1988 Constitution, and various agreement mechanisms. It will coordinate the state and local education systems, under the coordination of the Federal Government, integrating the planning, formulation, implementation, and evaluation of educational policies to achieve the ten-year goals of the National Education Plan (PNE).
At the same time, the SNE will consolidate guiding principles, such as the right to education, universal access with equity, and democratic governance, and define national educational quality standards. These standards should consider the different stages and modalities of basic education and will not only integrate the National Assessment of Basic Education but also guide the redistribution and supplementary allocation of the federal budget to other federative entities and of state budgets to their municipalities.
Demonstrating that the country has not forgotten the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new legislation provides remote pedagogical activities in exceptional situations, granting regulatory flexibility in school years affected by disasters or health emergencies. It also determines that states and municipalities may join forces, through consortia, partnerships, technical cooperation agreements, or other forms provided by law, to implement educational programs and actions, always respecting the needs, specificities, and educational, social, economic, and cultural identities of the entities involved.
Collaboration Regime
Tripartite Intermanagerial Commissions (Cites) and Bipartite Intermanagerial Commissions (Cibes), to be formed within 90 days of the law’s approval, should become the main forums for dialogue, understanding, and agreement on educational policies, programs, and actions between the federal government, states, municipalities, and the Federal District. They will be responsible for defining parameters, guidelines, and operational, administrative, and financial aspects of the collaboration regime.
The Cites will have a national scope and will be comprised by representatives from the federal government, states, the Federal District, and municipalities. Under the coordination of the Ministry of Education, it will coordinate the adoption of strategies to achieve the PNE goals and agree on national education guidelines to be implemented in the states, municipalities, and the Federal District by the Bipartite Intermanagerial Commissions, which, like the CITE, have 90 days to be created.
As part of the restructuring, states and municipalities will have up to two years to restructure their education systems and adapt them to the SNE guidelines. Although orientedby national guidelines, Cibes will have the autonomy to create their own educational policies and actions, ensuring the federative autonomy of subnational entities to address educational issues.
An important innovation is the creation of the National Education Data Infrastructure (INDE), with a unique identifier for each student. INDE not only demonstrates recognition of the importance of integrating information systems and managing educational data, but also improves traceability through individual student identification, which is essential for planning, monitoring, and evaluating public policies at the national level.
Pros and Cons
When considered by the Chamber of Deputies last May, PLP 235/2019 was improved. Provisions of the original Senate bill that opened the door to questioning were changed. This is the case, for example, with the article that determined the “mandatory integration” of learning assessments, which could be construed as compulsory unification, disregarding the unequal administrative capacity among federal entities and leading to conflicts of interest in the administration of tests by states. In the Chamber of Deputies, “mandatory integration” was replaced by “collaboration,” preserving comparability in the assessments.
The roles of the entities involved in these exams were also clarified, with coordination being clarified by the Ministry of Education and implementation by the Anísio Teixeira Institute of Educational Studies and Research (INEP) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Another improvement was the elimination of the automatic binding effect of the Basic Operational Standards (NOB) of CITE and CIBES, as provided for in the Senate’s PLP.
The mandatory binding effect of NOB had a high potential to cause tensions regarding federative autonomy and generate disputes regarding their constitutionality. The agreements of the inter-managerial committees now provide guidance, without direct binding.
PLP 235/2019 provides changes in the organization and functioning of the National Education Council (CNE), determining that at least 50% of the councilors be chosen from civil society lists, with terms lasting four years plus one reappointment, and that the body’s presidency be elected by peers.
The CNE’s Basic Education Chamber will now have specific seats for the National Forum of State and District Education Councils (Foncede) and the National Union of Municipal Education Councils (UNCME). Another positive point is the specific chapter on Indigenous and Quilombola school education, which is bilingual/multilingual, specific, differentiated, and intercultural, and is a shared responsibility of all federal entities.
The chapter states that the specific needs of these populations must be ensured, based on ethnoeducational territories, and that education should be offered in schools located in Quilombola communities and Indigenous lands – with instruction conducted in the native languages.
Implementation Challenges
The implementation of the system, however, will face challenges. One of them will be the development and agreement on national quality standards, which will lead to the evaluation of Brazilian education at its different levels. Although the minimum quality standard is provided for in the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education (LDB), these parameters have not yet been established due to the complexity of their definition, as they must encompass the regional and local specificities of education systems and all stages and modalities of basic education.
When defining minimum quality standards, factors such as a minimum school day and its progressive expansion to full-time, an adequate teacher-to-student ratio per class, teacher training appropriate to the areas of activity, the existence of a career plan, and a national minimum wage for public education professionals should be considered.
In terms of academic performance, adequate learning levels and the reduction of inequalities, a regular student trajectory, an adequate pass rate, and a reduction in dropout and dropout rates should be considered. Aspects of school infrastructure, such as environmental comfort standards, health, drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities, accessibility, and environmental sustainability, should also be considered.
Likewise, the effective implementation of the SNE will require state and local education departments to have a structure capable of ensuring the System’s priority and coordination with other agencies and stakeholders. This will not occur without difficulties, given the shift in mindset required for such a major change. For everything to work out, constant alignment, joint planning, and the support of all will be necessary.
