Law 13,722/2018, known as the Lucas Law (Lei Lucas), requires basic-education schools in Brazil, public and private, and private children's recreation facilities, to train teachers and staff in basic first aid, with a course offered every year. The aim is for staff to be able to recognise an emergency and act until specialised help arrives.
Who Lucas was
The law is named after Lucas Begalli Zamora, a 10-year-old boy who died in 2017 after choking during a school outing in Campinas, São Paulo State, without receiving first aid in time. Following a campaign led by his mother, the bill gained momentum and was signed into law in October 2018. Lucas's story is the reminder of why the law exists: to shorten the distance between an emergency and the right response in places where children are.
What the law requires, point by point
- Who must comply: public basic-education schools (through the education systems) and private basic-education schools and children's recreation facilities.
- Frequency: the course must be offered every year, to train or refresh part of the teaching and other staff, without disrupting normal activities.
- Number of people trained: set by regulation, in proportion to the size of the staff or the number of children served.
- Who teaches it: in public schools, municipal or state bodies specialised in emergency care; in private schools, qualified professionals.
- Content: suited to the nature and age group of the children served by the establishment.
- First-aid kit: mandatory, following the guidance of bodies specialised in emergency care.
- Transparency: the course certificate and the names of the trained staff must be displayed somewhere visible.
- Emergency network: establishments must be integrated into the region's urgent and emergency care network, with a defined referral pathway to a reference health unit.
What the penalties are
Failure to comply exposes the establishment to escalating sanctions: first a notice; then a fine, doubled for a repeat offence; and, for a further repeat, withdrawal of the operating licence or of the education authority's authorisation (for private schools and nurseries) or personal liability of the public official responsible (in public schools).
Does online training count?
The law does not specify how the course must be delivered. But the content it aims to guarantee — how to act when a child chokes or how to start resuscitating a child — depends on hands-on practice and cannot be learned just by watching. That is why the branch's Lucas Law first-aid course is taught in person, with a practical component.
The school first-aid kit
The law requires the kit but leaves its contents to the specialised bodies. In general, a basic school kit includes disposable gloves, sterile gauze, saline solution, bandages, adhesive tape, plasters and round-tipped scissors. Medicines should not be given to children without medical advice and the parents' or guardians' authorisation.
What the course teaches
The programme focuses specifically on emergencies involving children, covering:
- Assessing children in emergencies
- Paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
- Responding to choking
- Trauma and falls
- Seizures
- Burns
- Bleeding
- Preventive measures
- Up-to-date paediatric first-aid protocols
It is an 8-hour in-person course, with theory and practice, designed for schools, nurseries, educational institutions, social projects and sports activities involving children.
The course at the Brazilian Red Cross — Rio de Janeiro Branch
The branch's Escola de Educação e Saúde CVB-RJ (School of Education and Health) runs First Aid under the Lucas Law — Settings with Children:
- Hours: 8
- Minimum schooling: completed lower secondary (ensino fundamental)
- Format: in person, with theory and practice
- Language: Portuguese — there is no interpreting or group in another language
- Who it is for: staff of schools, nurseries, educational institutions, social projects and sports activities involving children
- Certificate: issued by the Brazilian Red Cross — Rio de Janeiro Branch
The Basic First Aid course also meets the Lucas Law, with general content not focused only on children.
The school also runs closed groups for the staff of a single institution. To arrange one, write to contato@cruzvermelhariodejaneiro.org.
Frequently asked questions
Which schools must comply with the Lucas Law? Public basic-education schools, and private basic-education schools and children's recreation facilities.
How many staff need to be trained? The law does not set a single number: the figure is defined by regulation, in proportion to the size of the staff or the number of children served. It is worth checking the rule that applies in your municipality and state.
How often must the training be done? The law requires the course to be offered every year, to train or refresh part of the staff.
Who can teach the course? In public schools, municipal or state bodies specialised in emergency care. In private schools, qualified professionals.
What happens if a school does not comply? A notice, then a fine (doubled for a repeat offence) and, for a further repeat, withdrawal of the operating licence or authorisation, for private schools, or personal liability of the public official, in public schools.
Does the school have to make public who was trained? Yes. The certificate and the names of the trained staff must be displayed somewhere visible.
What is the difference between this course and Basic First Aid and Basic Life Support? The first two meet the Lucas Law. This one focuses on emergencies with children and the school environment; Basic First Aid has general content, for anyone's everyday life. Basic Life Support covers the same subjects as Basic First Aid in a compact, 4-hour format.
Sources and references
- Law 13,722 of 4 October 2018 — Planalto — full text of the Lucas Law, in Portuguese.
- Law requiring schools to offer first-aid courses is signed — Chamber of Deputies — signing and origin of the law, in Portuguese.
First published in Portuguese on 24 September 2026. Read the original →