Unicamp Researchers Warn of Setback in Inclusive Education After New Federal Decree
3 February 2026
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The Laboratory for Studies and Research in Teaching and Difference (LEPED) at Unicamp warns of a setback in inclusive education after a federal decree changed national policy and may reopen space for school segregation practices.
The Laboratory for Studies and Research in Teaching and Difference (LEPED) is affiliated with the School of Education at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). LEPED released a public statement expressing strong concern over Decree No. 12,773/2025. This decree establishes the new National Policy on Inclusive Special Education (PNEEI-2025). According to the research group, the measure represents a significant setback in inclusive education policies developed in Brazil over the past decades.
According to the laboratory’s statement, the decree weakens progress consolidated since 2008 with the creation of the National Policy on Special Education from the Perspective of Inclusive Education (PNEEPEI). The most sensitive point, according to LEPED, lies in the reintroduction of provisions from the National Education Guidelines and Framework Law (LDB) that allow special education to be offered only “preferably” within mainstream schools rather than as a mandatory practice.
Researchers say this change is not simply a matter of wording; it opens the door to the return of segregating practices, such as placing students with disabilities in separate classrooms or specialized schools, contradicting fundamental principles of non-discrimination, equal rights, and full access to general education.
The statement is signed by Professor Maria Teresa Eglér Mantoan, LEPED’s coordinator and one of Brazil’s leading authorities on inclusive education. Beyond the decree’s content, she also criticizes the policy-making process, highlighting a lack of transparency and insufficient dialogue with researchers, specialists, and representatives from civil society.
The document emphasizes that inclusive education requires transforming schools to accommodate diversity through pedagogical adaptations, teacher training, and the provision of support resources within mainstream education systems. For the laboratory, returning to models that isolate students with disabilities ignores pedagogical progress, constitutional commitments, and international agreements adopted by the country.
In its conclusion, LEPED warns that the decree puts nearly two decades of collective work toward school inclusion at risk and may directly affect the right to education of thousands of students across Brazil. More than a technical disagreement, the group frames the issue as a political choice that impacts lives, educational trajectories, and the very idea of schools as spaces of coexistence, diversity, and citizenship.
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To read the full statement and access the original news report, see the content published by LEPED/Unicamp through the institution’s official channels.
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