Schools and daycares in Florianópolis — where to enroll a child

Right to school: what the norm says

This is the most important thing a foreign parent should know, and the wording is strict.

Enrollment is ensured immediately (art. 1 §1) in compulsory basic education, and in creche — according to availability of places. Without discriminatory mechanisms (§2).

The following cannot be an obstacle to enrollment (art. 1 §3):

• absence of a sworn translation of previous education documents;
• absence of personal documents from the country of origin;
• absence of RNM or temporary DP-RNM;
• irregular migration status or expired documents.

So neither “first CRNM” nor “first translate the diploma” is a lawful ground for refusal.

If there are no school records (§5), the child has the right to an assessment and classification procedure, and is enrolled in the class that corresponds to their development and age. The assessment is conducted in the child's native language (§6), and it is the responsibility of the education system to provide this, not the family.

Admission to daycare and first grade is based on a single criterion — age (art. 2). From second grade and in secondary school a level assessment is applied (art. 3), with an initial assessment carried out at the time of application for enrollment (art. 4 §3), and the final classification by the end of the same school year.

The school must organize admission (art. 6): without discrimination, with prevention of bullying, racism and xenophobia, without separation into classes for Brazilians and non-Brazilians, with instruction in Portuguese as a host language for those who do not speak it. On Portuguese for children and adults, see Where to learn Portuguese — free courses for migrants and what counts.

Three networks and who is responsible for what

For daycare applications you go to the city hall, for high school — to the state, and these are different queues with different timelines.

Creche and preschool: how to apply

The application is submitted online, on the city hall website, in the municipal Secretariat of Education section “Inscrições e Matrículas para a Educação Infantil”. Those who cannot manage on the website are advised by the city hall to go to the nearest unit of the network — they will help, but the submission is still electronic. The rules for the year are set by Portaria SME nº 742/2025 as amended in 2026.

Enrollment period 2026: the window ran from 18 February to 30 October and closed at 16:00. As of 3 Nov 2026 the city hall page gives no new dates.

Child age. Creche (groups 1–4): from 4 full months, children born on or after 1 Apr 2022; group is determined by date of birth with a cutoff of 31 March. Pré-escola: 4 full years by 31 March.

What to attach: birth certificate or the child's photo ID and, mandatorily, the CPF number; parent's photo ID and CPF — for a foreigner this is CRNM or an asylum request protocol; vaccination card issued by a health unit of Florianópolis no earlier than 3 months before the application. Without the child's CPF you cannot submit the application — how to obtain it, see Birth of a child in Brazil — registration, citizenship, documents.

After submission the application goes for document verification (up to five business days), and its progress is tracked on the city hall website by the child's CPF and date of birth.

How places are allocated. The waiting list is in order of application, but five documented priorities come first (Portaria nº 302/2026):

1. a child in an orphanage or foster family;
2. a child whose mother falls under municipal law 10.252/2017;
3. a brother or sister already attends the same institution;
4. the parent is a person with a disability;
5. the parent is 60 years old or older.

Within one priority and one group the time of application decides. Parents' income and employment do not affect the queue for a place — they are considered only when transferring an already enrolled child to full-day. When a child's turn comes, the institution calls the phone number from the application for two business days in a row; if there is no answer — the place goes to the next child.

A place can be lost. Five days of absences without a certificate within 30 days in the creche — and the place is released. In addition, the child must attend within the first five school days, otherwise enrollment is cancelled.

Places exist both in the municipality's own units and in partner (conveniadas) institutions, that is, in institutions operating under contract with the city hall; for the family they are the same municipal places.

School year calendar

The school year in Santa Catarina runs from 19 February to 18 December 2026, and the winter break falls on 23–31 July. A total of 202 school days against the federal minimum of 200 days and 800 hours.

2027 according to the SED calendar: classes from 15 February, after the Carnival days 8–10 February, until 17 December; winter break 22–31 July; 206 school days.

State school: enrollment for 2027

New students are enrolled in the state network on the site matriculaonline.sed.sc.gov.br, in three phases:

The school requests birth certificate or ID, CPF of the student and parent, vaccination card, proof of address and school documents. Enrollment of a foreigner, with or without study documents, in the state network is conducted under its Portaria nº 2.083/2023 — the federal norm described above still applies.

Municipalities may shift dates to fit local particularities within the limits set by the state — therefore a particular school's calendar may differ by a few days.

The school year here starts in February, and the long vacation falls in December–February, the southern summer.

NEIM Chico Mendes

Municipal creche and preschool in Monte Cristo, on the façade labelled Creche Chico Mendes. Address: Rua João Almeida de Oliveira, 147, Monte Cristo, CEP 88090-576. Telephone: (48) 3240-6402. You do not apply for a place here but through the general application on the city hall website, as described above.

NEIM Poeta João da Cruz e Sousa

Municipal creche and preschool in Areias do Campeche. Address: Rua Imburana, 123, Areias do Campeche, CEP 88066-123. Telephone: (48) 3238-6103. You apply for a place in the same way, via the general application on the city hall website.

Sources

1. T1Resolução CNE/CEB nº 1 of 13 Nov 2020 — right to enrol migrant, refugee, stateless and asylum-seeking childrengov.br · primary source
2. T1Secretaria de Educação de Santa Catarina — school calendar 2026: start and end of classes, winter break, number of school dayssed.sc.gov.br · primary source
3. T1SED SC — school calendar 2027: classes from 15 February to 17 December, holidays 22–31 July, 206 school dayssed.sc.gov.br · primary source
4. T1SED SC — 2027 enrollment plan in the regular network: pre-enrollment by lottery 12–20 Nov 2026, draw 23 Nov, second period 3–8 Dec 2026, third — at the school 3–5 Feb 2027; foreigners per Portaria SED nº 2.083/2023sed.sc.gov.br · primary source
5. T1Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Florianópolis — nursery and preschool enrollment section (the linked page returns navigation; content — at the address with menu=6)pmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
6. T1Prefeitura de Florianópolis — nursery and pré-escola enrollment 2026: window 18 Feb–30 Oct 2026, documents (child CPF mandatory, for a parent who is a foreigner CRNM or asylum protocol), vaccination record from the city health unitpmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
7. T1Portaria SME nº 742/2025 — rules for enrollment in municipal nurseries and pré-escola for 2026: groups by date of birth, re-enrollment, first process 20–31 Oct 2025, attendancepmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
8. T1Portaria SME nº 302/2026 — new version of priorities on the daycare waiting list: five categories, then order of applicationpmf.sc.gov.br · primary source
9. T2SCC10 — capacity of the municipal network of Florianópolis and submission procedure via Cadastro Únicoscc10.com.br · secondary source
10. T2Conecta SC — 2026 state school calendar dates: 19 February, 18 December, vacations 23–31 July, 202 school daysconectasc.com.br · secondary source
11. T1Secretaria Municipal de Educação de Florianópolis — list of NEIM: addresses, CEP, phones, principals, emailpmf.sc.gov.br · primary source

T1 — primary: law, agency site, price list. T2 — secondary: press, specialist sites. T3 — other.