Brazil Senate updates child rights and pauses apprentice law

The Brazilian Senate is processing significant legislative updates regarding child and adolescent rights. The Education Commission approved PL 2.234/2024, authored by Deputy Laura Carneiro, which seeks to update the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (ECA). The bill aligns the statute with the Constitution by replacing references to elementary school with “mandatory basic education” for ages 4 to 17. This change extends supplementary programs—such as transportation, food, and health assistance—to the entire basic education spectrum and mandates student census and attendance monitoring.

Separately, the Senate has withdrawn the Apprentice Statute (PL 6.461/2019) from its agenda following an agreement among senators. Senate President Davi Alcolumbre stated that while there is unanimous support for the initiative to reorganize professional apprenticeship rules, concerns were raised regarding the potential impact on specific professional categories and the feasibility of compliance for certain companies. The project, which proposes mandatory hiring quotas between 5% and 15% for many businesses, may return to the agenda in late August.