INCLUSIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION IN BRAZIL: BETWEEN POLICY DISCUSSION AND INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE—PROGRESS, GAPS, AND JUDICIALIZATION

Abstract

This study analyzes inclusive special education in Brazil through the lens of the tension between the robust regulatory framework that recognizes inclusion as a fundamental right and its implementation in institutional practices. The objective is to understand the regulatory advances, the structural and institutional gaps that persist in the school systems, and the role of judicial intervention in guaranteeing the right to inclusive education. The analysis shows that, although the Federal Constitution, educational legislation, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Statute of Persons with Disabilities have established important legal guarantees, obstacles remain related to infrastructure, funding, teacher training, pedagogical resources, management, and inter-institutional coordination. In this context, the gap between legal norms and practice contributes to increasing judicialization, especially in cases involving enrollment, specialized educational services, the availability of support professionals, adapted transportation, and curricular accommodations. It is evident that judicialization has an ambivalent nature: it simultaneously ensures the enforceability of rights and highlights structural shortcomings in public policies. It is concluded that the consolidation of inclusive education requires structural investments, continuing professional development, systemic planning, the strengthening of administrative mechanisms, and integration among the different branches of government, in order to reduce dependence on judicial intervention and ensure substantive equality and effective educational participation.