Education in Brazilian Sign Language and Law No. 14,191/2021: Disputed meanings

Abstract

This article examines Law No. 14,191/2021, which established Bilingual Education of the Deaf in Brazil as an educational modality distinct from Special Education under the National Education Guidelines and Framework Law. It seeks to understand the meanings attributed to education in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) in the discursive materiality of the law. Drawing on dialogic discourse analysis, grounded in the theoretical perspective of the Bakhtin Circle, the study offers a critical reading of the legal text, situating it within the chain of discourse and the historical context in which the law was enacted, a period marked by intense disputes over the meanings of deaf education. The analysis begins with a critical reconstruction of the process that led to the enactment of Law No. 14,191/2021, tracing developments from the struggles of Deaf movements in the 1990s to more recent legislative disputes. The findings indicate that, while Law No. 14,191/2021 represents an advance in recognizing the distinct character of Bilingual Education of the Deaf in relation to Special Education, it retains ambiguities that allow practices contrary to the principles of Bilingual Education of the Deaf to persist.