Understand the legislation that regulates the request of school materials and know how to differentiate items for collective use from those for individual use.
The beginning of the school year brings parents and guardians the task of organizing the purchase of the items necessary for their children’s studies. However, it is common to have doubts about which items schools are prohibited by law from ordering on the school supplies list, especially when the list includes cleaning, hygiene or office products. Brazilian legislation, supported by the Consumer Protection Code and specific laws, establishes clear limits to avoid abusive practices, protecting the family economy and ensuring that the institution’s maintenance costs are not unduly passed on to families.
The fundamental rule is the distinction between material for individual use and material for collective use. The monthly or annual school fee must already include spending on infrastructure, cleaning and administrative activities. Therefore, the list of materials must be restricted exclusively to items that the student will use directly in their daily teaching activities.
Rules and operation of Law 12,886/2013
The main legal basis that protects parents is Federal Law No. 12,886, sanctioned in 2013. This law amended the National Education Guidelines and Bases Law to expressly prohibit the requirement for items for collective use. According to the legal text, the costs corresponding to materials for collective use must always be considered when calculating the value of annual fees or school semester fees.
This means that the school cannot request materials that benefit all students simultaneously or that serve to maintain the institution’s building and office. Furthermore, the Consumer Protection Code (CDC) considers it an abusive practice to require specific brands or to force purchases from a single establishment (except for uniforms or school handouts), configuring what is called “bundling”.
List of prohibited and permitted items
To know exactly which items schools are prohibited by law from ordering on the school supplies list, it is necessary to check whether the product has an individual educational purpose or whether it serves the school’s operation. Below, we detail the categories.
- Prohibited items (Collective and administrative use)
These materials are the responsibility of the school and their costs must be included in the monthly fee. Their request on the list is considered void: - Cleaning and hygiene products: Alcohol (liquid or gel), detergent, disinfectant, soap, toilet paper, paper towels and plastic bags.
- Office and administrative supplies: Clips, staples and staplers, hanging folders, plastic for binders, toner or printer cartridge, stamps and adhesive tape in large quantities.
- Infrastructure: Lamps, disposable cups, disposable plates and cutlery, dish sponges and flannels.
- Medical use: Cotton, medicine or toothpicks.
- Others: Chalkboard pens (whiteboard marker) and eraser.
- Allowed items (Individual pedagogical use)
These are the materials that the student will use for learning and that, generally, are not reusable from one year to the next or belong to the student: - Personal stationery: Notebooks, pencils, pens, eraser, sharpener, blunt scissors, white glue (small tube), box of colored pencils and crayons.
- Arts and activities: Modeling clay, gouache paint, brushes, cardboard and bond paper (in a reasonable amount for student use, not whole reams for the school).
- Didactics: Textbooks and handouts.
Stages to respond to abusive lists
If parents identify irregularities in the list provided by the educational institution, there is a civic and administrative path to resolve the issue.
- List analysis
Check the list sent by the school item by item. Compare with the list of items for collective use prohibited by Law 12,886/2013. Separate what is teaching material from what appears to be input for the school office or cleaning. - Contact with the school management
Before any legal measure, dialogue is the first tool. Contact the secretariat or pedagogical coordination to question the purpose of the suspicious items. The school can often review the request or explain if there is a specific educational use (although cleaning items are never justified). - PROCON activation
If the school refuses to remove abusive items from the list or make enrollment conditional on the delivery of these materials, parents must file a complaint with PROCON (Consumer Protection and Defense Program) in their state or municipality. The body will monitor the institution and may impose fines.
School Supplies FAQ
Can the school require specific brands?
No. Requiring specific brands for materials such as pencils, notebooks or paints is abusive. The school can suggest brands based on quality, but the final purchasing decision, based on price and preference, belongs to the family.
What is the school supplies fee?
Some schools offer the option for parents to pay a one-time fee for the institution to purchase the materials themselves. This practice is permitted, as long as it is optional. The school cannot prevent parents from purchasing items themselves from external stationery stores.
Can the school retain the material left over at the end of the year?
All material for individual use purchased by parents belongs to the student. If, at the end of the school year, there are items left over, such as unused sheets of paper, paint or notebooks, these must be returned to the family.
Can the school ask for reams of bond paper?
This is a delicate point. Requesting a small quantity (e.g. 100 sheets) for student use in tests and drawings is acceptable. Ordering several reams (500 sheets or more) constitutes a transfer of administrative costs (printing circulars, tests from other students, etc.), which is prohibited.
Financial education and conscious consumption begin with verifying consumer rights. When you receive the list, remember that transparency in the relationship between school and family is essential. If there are items for collective use, the cost must be in the monthly fee, not in the stationery store’s shopping cart. In cases of persistent doubt or the school’s refusal to adjust the list, assistance from consumer protection agencies is the safest way to ensure compliance with the law.
