By Ricardo Luiz
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), the country's highest court, has unanimously struck down a law in the northeastern state of Maranhão that gave parents and guardians the right to remove children and teenagers from classes and activities on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. The rule applied to public and private schools across the state and is now void. The judgment ended on October 23 in the court's virtual plenary, an online voting session, but the topic gained traction this Wednesday (November 4).
What the Maranhão law said
The law at issue is state Law No. 12,479/2025. In practice, it allowed families to prevent their children from taking part in certain educational activities. The justices ruled that the text violated constitutional principles tied to the freedom to teach and to learn.
Who brought the case to the Supreme Court
The case was filed by the National LGBTI+ Alliance and the Brazilian Association of Homoaffective Families (a group representing same-sex families). According to the groups, the law restricted academic freedom, opened the door to censorship of content about diversity and harmed the right to education. They also argued that it encroached on the autonomy of educational institutions.
The rapporteur's vote and the ruling
The rapporteur, Justice Gilmar Mendes, agreed with those arguments and voted to strike the law down. He recalled that the Supreme Court had already overturned a similar rule in the state of Espírito Santo, which also restricted students' participation in activities on gender and sexuality. The other justices followed the rapporteur.
Even with a unanimous result, some justices left caveats. Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino argued that content should be appropriate to students' age group, level of education and development. Nunes Marques said the ruling cannot be read as authorization to address any subject without considering students' ages. André Mendonça also recorded personal reservations.
What changes for families
The court made clear that the decision does not require every school to offer a specific subject on gender identity or sexual orientation. What fell was the validity of the law that allowed students to be removed from such activities because of the subject matter. As a result, the text no longer serves as a basis for withdrawal requests by guardians in Maranhão. Schools remain subject to educational rules, curriculum guidelines and the principles set by the STF itself.
Why it matters
The decision is the latest example of Brazil's Supreme Court overriding state legislation on a sensitive social issue. Brazilian states have their own elected legislative assemblies, and the ruling shows the STF's role as final arbiter of whether such laws fit the Constitution. The court had already taken a similar position on the Espírito Santo rule.
VDD Analysis
A law passed by a state Legislative Assembly stopped being valid by decision of a federal court. For those who defend the right of parents to oversee and decide on their own children's upbringing, the message is a harsh one: the final word on the school curriculum tends to move ever further from the family. For the plaintiffs, the decision preserves the freedom to teach. For critics of the judicialization of politics, it shows how sensitive issues are being decided outside the political debate.
