A criminal court in São Paulo has sentenced a Brazilian couple, Audato and Ieda Denardi, to 50 days in prison for "intellectual neglect" after they homeschooled their two daughters, aged 15 and 11, without following a state-approved curriculum. According to Alliance Defending Freedom International, the court found that the parents had omitted programmes on "gender and sex education" and "tolerance and diversity", and had failed to properly integrate the girls into Brazilian culture. The case is believed to be the first criminal prosecution of its kind in Brazil, raising questions about parental rights and the legal status of homeschooling in the country.

The court reportedly cited the daughters' preference for religious and classical music over popular trap or "sertanejo" styles as evidence of poor cultural integration. The family's defence lawyer, Isabel Monteiro, argued the judge had made an "ideological decision" driven largely by the elder daughter's taste for sacred music over mainstream songs with explicit lyrics. The Denardis began homeschooling in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying their daughters' schools were failing them, and formally withdrew the girls in 2022, after which officials conducted home visits and pressed them to re-enrol. The couple, who say the girls are accomplished pianists who speak several languages, remain free while they appeal.