The Italian government has adopted measures restricting certain face-covering garments in educational settings and establishing limits on student composition based on language proficiency levels. The policies include a ban on burqas and niqabs—though not headscarves that leave the face visible—and a cap limiting students without Italian citizenship or with poor Italian language skills to 30% of enrollments in first-year classes at primary, middle, and secondary schools.
Education officials characterize the policies as serving different purposes. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni framed the veil ban as a matter of gender equality, while Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara described the language-based cap as a purely linguistic measure rather than one based on citizenship. Officials stated the classroom distribution limit aims to prevent formation of isolated student groups and support language integration. Where geographic constraints prevent even distribution of students with limited Italian proficiency, schools may seek exemptions and implement supplementary Italian instruction. Additional provisions would require schools to report persistent parental language barriers to social services and expand free Italian language courses for families.
The measures represent a codification and strengthening of previous guidance; a 2010 ministerial notice had previously recommended a 30% limit on pupils without Italian citizenship. The new decree takes immediate effect but requires parliamentary ratification within 60 days. Current data indicates non-Italian citizens comprise 11.6% of students in Italian schools.
Opposition parties have criticized the measures, characterizing them as political maneuvers targeting supporters of the hard-right Futuro Nazionale party ahead of next year’s general election. Centre-left Democratic Party leaders called the plan propaganda and questioned its practical feasibility. Government officials rejected these characterizations, with Valditara stating the measures represent substantive policy rather than political positioning. Futuro Nazionale leader Roberto Vannacci expressed support for the policies but suggested they should have been implemented earlier.
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