BETWEEN VALIDITY AND EXTENSION: ENROLLMENT, FUNDING, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS GAP IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY IN TOCANTINS, BRAZIL (2015-2025)

Abstract

The article analyzes the effectiveness of the inclusive education goal of the Tocantins State Education Plan throughout the 2015-2025 decade, focusing on people with disabilities, global developmental disorders, and high abilities or giftedness. The study adopts a qualitative, documentary and bibliographic approach, comparing the plan’s normative strategies with official enrollment and funding data. The 2026 legal extension of the plan’s validity is treated as interpretive background, without being taken as proof of non-compliance with the goals. Results indicate growth in school inclusion in the state, still below national and regional averages, and reveal a gap between formal compliance with the strategies and pedagogical effectiveness, acknowledged by the managing body itself. The study identifies weaknesses in municipal budget transparency regarding education funding and relates the findings to international evidence on inclusive education monitoring and comparable federative systems. It concludes that future policy cycles should more closely align enrollment, executed funding and service-quality indicators.