CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT: ANALYSIS OF GOAL 1 OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION PLAN (PNE) AND THE IMPACT OF EXTRAORDINARY APPEAL No. 1.000.166/SC OF THE SUPREME FEDERAL COURT (STF)

Abstract

This article assesses the status of Goal 1 of the National Education Plan (PNE) 2014-2025, referring to Early Childhood Education (ECE), specifically daycare, in the context of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. It also seeks to understand the impact of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decision in Extraordinary Appeal (RE) No. 1,000,166, which imposed an unconditional obligation on municipalities to implement this public policy. In addition, it discusses the problem of judicialization of access to daycare centers in view of the shortage of places throughout Brazil.  The research is pure and applied in nature; it has a qualitative and quantitative (descriptive statistics) approach (method); it uses documentary (statistical sources, census, public and legal documents) and bibliographic (state research, books, theses, dissertations, and scientific articles) procedures. The results point to the urgent need to adapt the state's provision of public daycare centers in the face of pent-up and growing demand, either through direct action by the public entity (construction and renovation of units) or through indirect implementation (partnerships with the private sector and social interest entities).