Minimum School Attendance for Approval in Brazil

Brazilian minimum attendance: rule and example

Under the LDB (Lei 9.394/1996, art. 24, VI), a student in basic education has to attend at least 75% of the total teaching hours to pass. Put the other way around, absences can’t go past 25%. Example: with 800 annual hours, the most a student can miss is 800 × 0.25 = 200 hours, so they need to show up for at least 800 × 0.75 = 600 hours. Higher education uses a comparable 75% rule, but per discipline (Decreto 5.773/2006 and each institution’s own regulations). Distance learning (EAD) runs on MEC norms that tend to be looser, because there attendance is counted from completed activities and online interactions rather than physical presence.

Applications

Absence budgeting: families and students work out how many days or classes they can skip before risking reprovação por falta (failure due to attendance). Absenteeism planning: schools and HR departments apply the rule to school-age employees and adult education programs. Medical certificates: absences that are properly justified (Decreto-Lei 715/1969, Lei 6.202/1975 for pregnancy, military service, and so on) don’t count against attendance in many regimentos. Extracurricular events: olympic competitions, internships and academic events may earn an abono de faltas under their own rules.

FAQ

Are medical certificates always accepted? No. They justify the absence (Decreto-Lei 1.044/1969 covers home-study activities for serious conditions, and Lei 6.202/1975 covers pregnancy), but for an ordinary illness the certificate usually only entitles you to make-up work, not to having the absence excused from the attendance count.

Is the rule the same per subject or annual total? It depends on the level. In basic education the LDB looks at the total annual workload; in higher education it’s usually counted discipline by discipline.

What happens at 74%? That’s reprovação por falta: the student fails no matter how good the grades are, and most regimentos leave no room for appeal once you drop below the line.