The State of São Paulo was ordered to compensate an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The minor was induced by older classmates to lick the floor of the school where he studied in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, in exchange for R$20.
Compensation for moral damages was set at R$15,000, with additional interest and monetary correction.
The state was also ordered to provide a school support professional to accompany the boy throughout the school period.
To g1, the State of São Paulo informed that it has not yet been notified of the decision of the 2nd Public Finance Court of Santos. There is still an appeal.
The State of São Paulo was ordered to compensate R$15,000 for an 11-year-old boy, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who was induced by older students to lick the floor of the school where he studied in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, in exchange for R$20.
In addition to compensation for moral damages, with additional interest and monetary correction, the Court ordered the state to provide a school support professional to accompany the boy throughout the class period at the unit where he is enrolled.
To g1, the State of São Paulo informed that it has not yet been notified of the decision of the 2nd Public Finance Court of Santos. There is still an appeal.
Induced to lick the floor
According to the sentence, obtained by g1 this Monday (9), the case took place on February 25, 2025, in the courtyard of the Escola Estadual Professora Alzira Martins Lichti, in Morro Nova Cintra.
In the action, the student's diagnoses of ASD, Moderate Mental Retardation and Oppositional Defiant Disorder were presented.
The boy reported being victimized by older students during recess. According to him, he was induced to lick the floor in exchange for R$20, "under the mockery of other students and without preventive intervention from employees, suffering humiliation of great repercussion."
According to the report, the school management advised the mother not to take him to class until he returned from a medical appointment. The situation led to the student's transfer to another state school.
Justice points out surveillance failure
In the action presented to the Court, the boy's defense pointed out the school's failures in monitoring students and offering specialized support. He also requested compensation of R$100,000 for moral damages, the cost of psychological support and the provision of a school support professional.
Judge Bruno Nascimento Troccoli recognized the right to compensation, but considered the request for R$100,000 disproportionate to the criteria adopted by the São Paulo Court of Justice in similar cases that occurred in the school environment. The value was set at R$15 thousand.
To define the amount, the judge stated that he considered "the particularities of the fact, the intensity of the humiliation endured by the incapacitated person due to their cognitive vulnerability, the behavioral deviation of those involved, the initial omission in communicating to the family and the principles of reasonableness and proportionality, avoiding unjust enrichment".
"The late interruption of the offensive acts by the coordinator and the total lack of immediate communication of the very serious episode to the mother of the incapacitated person, who only became aware of the humiliation when alerted by her daughter at a later time, denote an indisputable failure of vigilance, prevention and institutional management", said the judge, highlighting that the situation was "depressing and vexatious".
Troccoli added that the management's subsequent stance, in asking the student to return to classes only after a medical consultation, "aggravated the feeling of helplessness and disrespect for the child's fundamental rights."
Support professional
The judge also ordered the state to provide a school support professional for the boy. In the decision, he highlighted that a neurologist and the Department of Education itself confirmed the need for continuous monitoring during school activities.
Regarding the request for psychological support, the judge stated that the care is a health measure already provided by the public network and that the mother should seek regular multidisciplinary care channels from the Unified Health System (SUS).
