Purcellville, Virginia, Aug. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The Brazilian Supreme Court will hear arguments later this week on the constitutionality of homeschooling and Home School Legal Defense Association’s legal opinion has been touted as highly influential. The court’s decision will have global impact says HSLDA’s Senior Counsel and Director of Global Outreach.

“This is the most significant court decision on homeschooling in the world in the last 15 years. Brazil is one of the world's largest democracies and its ruling will influence other countries grappling with growing homeschool populations. A positive ruling will provide needed counter weight to the ruling of the German Supreme Court in 2003 which banned homeschooling.”

The Brazil case originated in 2016 when a homeschooling family was charged with truancy. In 2017 the high court imposed a national stay against all criminal prosecutions of homeschooling families pending the outcome of the current case. HSLDA filed a legal opinion explaining that international law protects the right of parents to direct their children's education. The present case is not the first time HSLDA has fought to advance homeschooling rights in Brazil. For the past 10 years, HSLDA’s efforts in the South American country have centered on influencing policymakers and courts to recognize homeschooling as a human right.

HSLDA is optimistic that Brazil’s Supreme Court will find homeschooling permissible, since both Article 26 of Brazil’s constitution and international law recognize the important role of the family in education. Donnelly pointed to statements made by legal counsel to Brazil’s National Homeschool [ANED].

“Our local contacts say that the court appears ready to acknowledge that home education is constitutionally recognized in Brazil.  They have told me that this outcome would not have been possible without the support of our friends in the United States.” More information about the Brazil case can be accessed here

Read HSLDA's legal opinion here

Helaina Bock Home School Legal Defense Association 540.338.8287 helainab@hslda.org