Safeguarding international schools in Brazil: country guide

The laws reviewed for this guide do not set up a separate regulator for international schools. A private school needs permission to operate and a quality check from the public authority (Article 7 of the national education law, known as the LDB).

Private primary and secondary schools belong to their state education system. Private nurseries and pre-schools belong to the municipal system (Articles 17 and 18).

Many international schools also run a Brazilian-approved programme beside the international one, which links them to the rules above. Ask your Head which authorisation your school holds.

Some schools say on their own sites that they hold foreign accreditation as well. Graded in São Paulo and EARJ in Rio de Janeiro both name the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and a Brazilian education authority.

The UK government's British Schools Overseas (BSO) list also includes a school in Brazil. Check which framework yours follows, because its child protection standards sit on top of Brazilian law.

The base is the Child and Adolescent Statute (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, or ECA), Law 8,069 of 13 July 1990. It sets out the full protection of children and adolescents. A child is under 12 and an adolescent is 12 to 18 (Article 2).

Law 13,431 of 2017 sets up the system for child victims and witnesses of violence. It lists physical, psychological, sexual and institutional violence. Psychological violence includes bullying (Article 4).

Law 14,344 of 2022, known as the Henry Borel Law, targets domestic and family violence against children. Law 14,811 of 2024 adds protection measures for schools and makes bullying and cyberbullying criminal offences.

Two education laws add school duties. Law 13,185 of 2015 makes schools responsible for measures against violence and bullying. The LDB says schools must promote awareness, prevention and action against all types of violence (Article 12).

Yes. Article 13 of the ECA says suspected or confirmed mistreatment of a child must be reported to the local Conselho Tutelar. Suspicion is enough.

The Conselho Tutelar is a permanent, autonomous council that watches over children's rights, and every municipality has at least one (Articles 131 and 132). For the wider picture, read mandatory reporting laws for international schools.

Article 56 tells the heads of schools at the ensino fundamental level (the nine-year basic school stage) to report mistreatment of pupils, neglect, abuse, abandonment and repeated unjustified absence. Article 245 sets a fine for a teacher, or the head of a primary school, pre-school or nursery, who knows of suspected mistreatment and does not report it.

Law 13,431 (Article 13) says anyone who knows of violence against a child must report it at once. It names three routes: the reporting service, the Conselho Tutelar or the police. They then tell the public prosecutor (Ministério Público).

Law 14,344 (Article 26) goes further. Failing to report violence against a child to a public authority carries six months to three years of detention. Ask your lawyer how courts apply this to school staff.

If a child is in immediate danger, call emergency services first. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your designated safeguarding lead (DSL) the same day. Keep these numbers where staff can find them.

Disque 100 passes reports to the bodies that act on them. The ministry says it does not replace emergency services, so call 190 or 192 first when danger is happening now.

The Conselho Tutelar is municipal, so its contact details differ by city. Look up your school's and put them in your procedure.

• Immediate danger: call 190 (police, Polícia Militar). 193: fire brigade (Bombeiros).
• 192: ambulance (SAMU), free and open at all hours.
• 100: Disque 100, free, every day, around the clock. You can ask for anonymity during the call.
• SaferNet Brasil: online safety counselling by webchat and email in Portuguese, listed by Child Helpline International.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

A typical international school policy has staff pass concerns to the DSL. Brazilian law also names the outside body, the Conselho Tutelar, and puts duties on teachers and school heads. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) has no legal force in Brazil.

One procedure can serve both. Staff tell the DSL at once, and the DSL or Head reports to the Conselho Tutelar and records it. The policy should say that telling the DSL does not end a person's own legal duty.

• Self-harm and suicide: schools must notify the Conselho Tutelar of cases of violence involving pupils, especially self-harm, suicide attempts and suicides (LDB Article 12, changed by Law 15,231 of 2025).
• Bullying: cyberbullying is a crime in the Penal Code (Article 146-A, added by Law 14,811 of 2024).
• Sexual offences: the Penal Code sets 14 as the line for statutory rape (Article 217-A), as the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) lists. Your code of conduct should treat any sexual contact between staff and pupils as abuse.

Brazil's General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD) applies to processing done in Brazil, processing aimed at people in Brazil and data collected in Brazil. It applies whatever country the organisation is based in and wherever the data sits (Article 3).

Children's data gets extra care. Processing must serve the child's best interest, and the LGPD asks for specific, prominent consent from at least one parent or guardian (Article 14). A legal duty can also be a lawful basis (Article 7), so ask counsel which basis fits each record.

Moving data abroad is allowed only in listed cases (Article 33). These include standard contractual clauses and the person's specific consent. The National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) set the rules in Resolution 19 of 2024.

The LGPD text sets conditions for transfers abroad, with no rule to keep data in Brazil. Other rules may apply to some sectors, so ask counsel before you choose a supplier.

Article 41 asks the controller to name a data protection officer (encarregado). Article 48 requires notice to the ANPD and the people affected after an incident that may cause relevant risk or harm. Law 15,211 of 2025 adds duties for digital services children are likely to use, and has applied since 17 March 2026.

Portuguese is the official language, so expect Brazilian authorities to work in it. Many support staff, such as drivers, guards and cleaners, also work in Portuguese, so English-only training leaves them out. Read why translation alone is not enough.

The ECA speaks of proteção integral (full protection) and maus-tratos (mistreatment). Article 70-B says schools must have staff trained to recognise suspected crimes against children and report them to the Conselho Tutelar.

Physical punishment is banned in every setting, schools included. Articles 18-A and 18-B of the ECA also ban cruel or degrading treatment, meaning treatment that humiliates, gravely threatens or ridicules a child. In 2015 the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child said the ban was not effectively enforced.

Article 59-A of the ECA says educational establishments must keep registration records and up-to-date criminal record certificates for all their collaborators. The Federal Police certificate is free, online and valid for 90 days.

For civil use it shows only final convictions, and it is issued in Portuguese only. Treat it as one check in your safer recruitment process. Staff who lived abroad should also provide certificates from those countries.

Work through this list in your first weeks. Then ask local counsel and the relevant authority to confirm each point, because this guide is general information, not legal advice.

Some items need a lawyer's answer. Write each answer down with its date and the name of who gave it.

• Save the Conselho Tutelar contact for your school's municipality, with 190, 192 and Disque 100, on one page.
• Ask the Head which state or municipal authorisation the school holds and which laws counsel says apply.
• Check that the reporting route names who reports to the Conselho Tutelar, how fast, and in which language.
• Add the duty to notify the Conselho Tutelar of violence involving pupils, especially self-harm and suicide, to your response plan.
• Check every staff file for a registration record and criminal record certificates.
• Ask each supplier where student safeguarding data is stored and which transfer mechanism covers it.
• Book Portuguese-language training for support staff and keep dated records.