The study analyzes the advances, setbacks, and challenges of the policy structuring the High School Reform (REM) based on Law 14.945/2024. This is a qualitative, exploratory documentary research, with analysis anchored in the first two processes of Ball’s Policy Cycle. The results show that, despite the advances, curricular flexibility and formative pathways did not address the gaps pointed out by the scientific community. Furthermore, the increase in the workload of Basic General Education (FGB) and the introduction of the Distance Education (EaD) model serve only the interests of the private sector and multilateral organizations. Therefore, the High School Reform, which aimed to modernize Brazilian education through curricular flexibility, proved insufficient to meet the needs of students and educational structures, with rhetoric that did not translate into combating social ills or fostering the holistic development of students.