A Brazilian court has sentenced a couple to 50 days in prison for homeschooling their two daughters without a state-approved curriculum. The parents, Audato and Ieda Denardi, were accused of ‘intellectual neglect’ for not including programs on ‘gender and sex education’ and ‘tolerance and diversity’ in their curriculum.

Background

The Denardis began homeschooling their daughters in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, after realizing their schools were failing to give them a proper education. The couple told Fox News Digital that they were surprised by the ruling and never expected to be sentenced to prison for trying to provide a better education for their daughters.

The court’s decision has placed an immense emotional burden on the family. The Denardis’ defense attorney, Isabel Monteiro, said the judge made an ‘ideological decision to convict them’ based largely on the older daughter’s preference for sacred music over mainstream music.

Legal Ambiguity

The case highlights the legal ambiguity surrounding homeschooling in Brazil. In 2019, the nation’s Supreme Court ruled that homeschooling was not unconstitutional but required to be regulated by the legislature. However, the regulatory framework bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2022 stalled in the Senate, putting homeschooling families in legal limbo.

The Denardis’ appeal will be heard by the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo. The family’s lawyer, Monteiro, said the prosecution’s recommendation to acquit the parents was rejected by the judge, who accused the parents of ‘using their daughters as pawns in an ideological struggle.’

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.