Brazil publishes its first AI in Education framework — and the key message is about what comes before the tool

In a live-streamed event on YouTube, Brazil’s Ministry of Education presents a landmark document with guidelines for responsible AI use in schools and education networks

By José Brito, journalist, Founder of Pupa Educação Digital and faculty at the AI and Digital Education Lab at Colégio MOPI

 

“If there is one thing you can take away from this document, it is the importance of learning and teaching about AI coming before — or at least alongside — learning and teaching with AI. The main message of this document is that we must avoid using these tools in basic education without proper understanding.”

Ana Úngari Dal Fabbro — General Coordinator of Digital Education, Innovation and Connectivity, Basic Education Secretariat / Ministry of Education (MEC) (Webinar “AI in Basic Education: Pathways to Curriculum and Teaching Practice”, April 8, 2026)

 

AI-generated image with Gemini] Square pixel art illustration with a light lilac background. At the center, an official document displaying the text “INTELIGÊNCIA ARTIFICIAL NA EDUCAÇÃO BÁSICA” in pixelated letters. Around it, a diverse group of small robots — in different shapes, with antennas, visors and Afrofuturist-inspired details — represent students, educators, families and researchers. Color palette: purple, turquoise green, dark green, soft yellow and light gray on a pastel lilac background.

 

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed a growing convergence between two conversations I am having simultaneously: the debate about AI in education with middle school students in the classroom, and ongoing exchanges with educators and parents about Brazil’s Digital Child Statute (ECA Digital) and all the dynamics that come with the new legislation.

What we have now is a new formal decision-making process: we are getting better at understanding how to assess, how to monitor, and how to adjust our path as the landscape shifts. Transparency in our relationship with technology is increasingly essential for a more effective learning journey for our children. The good news is that many competent people are contributing to this agenda — and this week gave us clear proof of that.

In March 2026, Brazil took an important and well-directed step by putting its position in writing. The Ministry of Education published the Framework for the Responsible Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence in Education — the first official government document to guide schools, administrators and teachers on AI use, from early childhood education through higher education. This is a statement about risks, responsibilities and opportunities — and it arrives at a moment when the supporting infrastructure is finally catching up: over the past two years, the Escolas Conectadas (Connected Schools) program expanded high-speed wi-fi access for pedagogical purposes in public schools from 45% to 71.1%, reaching nearly 100,000 schools and 24 million students in basic education across Brazil.

The public consultation process was genuinely participatory: 57 contributions from civil society organizations and two in-person workshops held in Brasília. The resulting framework includes ethical principles, technology adoption criteria, and recommendations aligned with Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and the Digital Child Statute — and it emphasizes that monitoring cycles and data protection checkpoints must become part of schools’ daily routines, not just policy paperwork. The most innovative element is the AI in Education Regulatory Sandbox, a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Attorney General’s Office (AGU): the first controlled environment in Brazil to test AI solutions before scaling them nationwide.

The quote of the week is also a call to the public spirit behind the document, and it came directly from Ana Dal Fabbro during the launch webinar: learning about AI needs to come before — or at least alongside — learning with AI. That is a pedagogical stance. And it is directly connected to what I observe in schools every day: when the tool arrives before the understanding of what to do with it and where we want to go, it may produce short-term results, but it does not transform. When reflection is part of the process, we get genuinely better learning outcomes.

At the same time as the Ministry of Education delivers this roadmap, the world around us does not stand still — and I am not only referring to recent political developments in Brazil, but to what is happening globally: Australia navigating its first review period after banning social media for under-16s, with results more complex than the law anticipated; TikTok self-regulating ahead of legislation with new parental controls; Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation opening a R$100 million funding call to protect children in digital environments; and an AI-generated viral trend disguised as “fruit soap operas” that lays bare the broader debate about technology, digital citizenship and content classification.

That is where we stand, folks. The ecosystem does not wait for frameworks to be finalized. Now begins the chapter that no document can resolve on its own: practice — in schools, with families, alongside institutions, and with each one of us.

📌 Sources: AI in Education Framework — MEC | Executive Summary (PDF) | Webinar video — MEC YouTube channel

 

Check out the other highlights of the week and the reading recommendation below! 😉

#2   Finep funding call offers R$100 million for child protection projects in digital environments

Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is selecting proposals for AI-based solutions to detect child exploitation, real-time intervention chatbots, and dynamic parental control tools. A strong opportunity for startups and researchers.

🔗 ECA Digital funding call — MCTI/Finep | Grownt.tech

#3  Australia: did the ban work? Three months in, the answer is still complicated

The ban on social media for under-16s, in force since December, has produced an unexpected result: teenagers have migrated to smaller platforms with fewer built-in protections. What comes next?

🔗 Terra | The Guardian

#4  TikTok now requires parental permission for users under 16

A new dynamic worth watching closely: since March 17, users under 16 can only change their privacy settings and screen time limits with parental authorization through the platform’s Family Pairing feature.

🔗 G1 (in Portuguese)

#5  Moranguete and Abacatudo: a warning wrapped in fruit

AI-generated “fruit soap operas” have gone viral on TikTok, featuring animated characters like Moranguete (Little Strawberry) and Abacatudo (Avocado) in dramatic storylines — but they are raising red flags about reward mechanisms, age-appropriate language and content classification.

🔗 G1 (in Portuguese) | Itatiaia (in Portuguese)

READING RECOMMENDATION » 📚

A Hora da Estrela

Author: Clarice Lispector

Publisher: Rocco

Year: 1977

BOOK COVER — insert image] Cover of “A Hora da Estrela” (“The Hour of the Star”) by Clarice Lispector, published by Editora Rocco. Oil painting-textured illustration in shades of golden yellow, ochre, turquoise and dark brown. A large five-pointed star in golden yellow dominates the composition. The author’s name appears in expressive typography — “lispector” in smaller letters above, and “clarice” in large letters alternating between black and dark red. At the bottom, the title “A Hora da Estrela” in black uppercase letters, followed by the Rocco publisher logo.

 

I recently picked up this book by Clarice Lispector after joining a book club with my dear friend Luiza Magessi. Macabéa, the main character, is a young woman from northeastern Brazil who arrives in the big city without the full set of tools she needs to make sense of the world around her. She moves through her story somewhere between noise and silence, between trying to be seen and remaining invisible.

There is something in that experience that feels very close to what children and adolescents must be going through online right now. A mix of emotions — between playing the game and learning the rules. Between speaking up and being heard. Between claiming new territories and navigating a complex web of laws, rights and responsibilities — all with a healthy dose of chance thrown in, and the added challenge of keeping up with the latest developments in prompt engineering.

Thank you for reading Radar Pupa! If this resonates with you, subscribe for free to receive future editions and share these insights on digital culture and AI in education.

 

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