Overview
- A provisional majority of six Supreme Court justices has voted to declare the Maranhão law unconstitutional, overturning a rule that let parents prohibit their children from taking part in lessons on gender, sexual orientation and diversity.
- The six justices who voted to strike the law are Gilmar Mendes, Alexandre de Moraes, Dias Toffoli, Edson Fachin, Cristiano Zanin and Flávio Dino.
- Relator Gilmar Mendes relied on a prior ruling that invalidated a similar Espírito Santo law and said education content on gender and sexuality falls under federal authority to set national guidelines.
- Justices Cristiano Zanin and Edson Fachin followed the relator while reserving that any ruling should require schools to adapt content and methods to students’ developmental stages.
- The case was brought by three LGBTI+ groups and is being decided in a virtual session that remains open; the outcome will only be final if no justice files a request for more time or moves the case to the full physical plenary, and a confirmed ruling would limit states from passing similar measures and affect school policies nationwide.