SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN CONTEMPORARY BRAZIL – ANALYSIS OF THE NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON INCLUSIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ITS IMPACTS ON GUARANTEEING THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Abstract

Special education from an inclusive perspective has established itself as a relevant axis of Brazilian educational policies, linked to the expansion of access to mainstream schools and to the recognition of diversity as a pedagogical principle. Nevertheless, this field remains marked by conceptual and institutional disputes, particularly regarding the role of special education, Specialized Educational Support (AEE), and the responsibilities of the State in guaranteeing the right to education for persons with disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this context, the new National Policy on Inclusive Special Education repositions the debate by establishing guidelines that directly affect the organization of education systems, pedagogical work, and the conditions for access, participation, and learning in mainstream schools. The aim of this chapter is to provide a critical analysis of the new National Policy on Inclusive Special Education in contemporary Brazil, examining its normative, conceptual, and political foundations, as well as its potential effects on the realization of the right to education for persons with disabilities and ASD. The study seeks to understand how this policy dialogues with previous legal frameworks, with the principles of inclusive education, and with the historical demands of social movements, while simultaneously generating new challenges, ambivalences, and disputes in the educational field. The guiding research question is: to what extent does the new National Policy on Inclusive Special Education contribute to strengthening inclusive education as a right, and what are its impacts, limits, and implications for ensuring access, participation, and learning for persons with disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Brazilian basic education? Theoretically, the study draws on the works of Freire (2014a; 2014b; 2014c), Shakespeare (2013; 2018), Garland-Thomson (1997; 2009), Snyder and Mitchell (2006; 2014), Mitchell, Antebi and Snyder (2019), Davis (1995; 2017), Ball (1994; 2008), Booth and Ainscow (1998), Ainscow (1999), Florian (2013), Florian and Hegarty (2004), Mantoan (2003; 2006; 2010), Singer (2017), Walker (2021), Kapp (2020), Milton (2020), Milton and Ryan (2022), Chapman (2023), Silberman (2015), Waltz (2013), Hinshaw and Ellison (2016), Barkley (2005), Shaywitz (2005) Reid (2005; 2006), Armstrong (1998; 1999; 2001; 2006), Angelo and Cross (1993), among others. The research adopts a qualitative approach (Minayo, 2007), with descriptive and bibliographic procedures (Gil, 2008), and a comprehensive analytical perspective (Weber, 1949). The findings indicate that the new policy represents a normative advance by reaffirming inclusive education as a right and repositioning mainstream schooling as the central locus of education for persons with disabilities and ASD. However, its impacts remain uneven, strongly conditioned by institutional capacities, teachers’ working conditions, and territorial inequalities. The expansion of formal access does not, by itself, ensure effective participation and meaningful learning, revealing limitations in practical implementation. Although AEE is reaffirmed as complementary pedagogical support, it continues to be marked by conceptual and operational ambiguities. Thus, the effectiveness of the policy depends on the articulation between funding, continuing professional development, democratic management, and an institutional commitment to inclusion as a public value.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2026.004-008