ICMS Educação: os conceitos de aprendizagem e equidade previstos na Constituição Federal de 1988

Abstract

The objective of this work is to find the concepts of learning and equity provided for in item II of the sole paragraph of art. 158 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, for the purpose of distributing ICMS Education to municipalities. To accomplish this objective, the work was divided into three parts. In the first, the main guidelines of the 1988 Magna Carta about the right to education were outlined, and after presenting a brief history of education financing in Brazil and the main sources of funding for that system. In the second, a brief historical account was presented about the origin of the ICMS Educacional, with the presentation of the state legislation in force and the case of the State of Ceará, to then present the main legal and tax aspects of the ICMS norm destined the education. In the third, the meaning of such terms in the constitutional text was sought, identifying that paragraph 3 of article 212 and paragraph of item V of art. 212-A of CF/88 link the terms equity and learning to the national education plan – PNE and to the national basic education assessment system – Saeb, respectively. From the analysis of the PNE, the term equity was expressly related to the Basic Education Development Index – IDEB, so that the reach of the national average in that indicator demonstrates a reduction in the existing disparities between educational institutions and an increase in the equity of students' learning. Considering that the Ideb is expressly linked to the term equity in the PNE and CF/88 references the words equity and learning to the PNE and Saeb, respectively, when delving into the composition of that index, it is concluded that the Ideb can be used by the States for the purposes of transferring ICMS to municipal entities.