The Future of Education

School dropout and school leaving constitute a multifaceted, relational process of disengagement from school, resulting from the interweaving of socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional determinants and the insufficiency of educational structures and support networks [1], which makes it essential to identify vulnerabilities early and strengthen protective factors throughout school trajectories [2]. This study aimed to analyze the influence of race/color and the Socioeconomic Level Index (INSE) on relational protective factors of school trajectories. Accordingly, a sample of 10,000 synthetic data was used, based on 3,678 valid responses/answers from students of four Brazilian states who completed the Relational Factors for the Risk of School Dropout Scale  – Alternative version (IAFREE-A). The synthetic data was calculated using the Gaussian Copula technique, which considers the association between the observed variables in the dataset to estimate new responses, generating a new and bigger dataset. This approach was considered due to the General Law of Data Protection (LGPD), ensuring ethical compliance through the use of anonymized data, nationwide data collection using real data is currently being conducted in Brazil. Analyses were conducted in JASP using Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn post hoc comparisons (Holm correction) due to non-normality (Shapiro–Wilk), and effect sizes were estimated using eta-squared (η²), variables were the scores of the 14 attention factors. Results showed that, for race/color, significant differences were found in E-FAM2 (p<.001), E-EST2 (p<.001), and E-EST3 (p=.002). Brown students reported poorer family support and educational expectations than White, while Black and Brown showed more negative perceptions of school belonging. For INSE, lower levels were associated with greater vulnerability across E-FAM1, E-FAM2, E-COM2, E-EST1, and E-EST3 (all p<.001), particularly family support. Protecting school trajectories requires intersectional policies strengthening school inclusivity for racial minorities and economically vulnerable students.