Meloni also proposes a cap on foreign pupils, but the government has yet to publish the measure
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to ban burqas and niqabs in schools, limit the number of foreign pupils in each classroom and require some parents to learn Italian. The proposals immediately sharpened Italy’s debate over integration, religious freedom and equal access to education, although no draft legislation or numerical classroom cap has yet been published.
Meloni announced the measures on Sunday at Fenix, a festival organised in Rome by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party. She said the government would bring a measure before the Council of Ministers “soon”.
According to Meloni’s recorded announcement, the package will establish a maximum number of foreign pupils per class. It will also require parents of foreign pupils facing serious integration difficulties to learn Italian.
The prime minister presented the proposals as a way to prevent pupils who do not speak Italian from becoming isolated and to ensure that schools support integration. She argued that classrooms with many children who lack sufficient Italian-language skills can struggle to meet the needs of individual pupils.
No draft text published
The announcement is not yet law. The government has not disclosed the proposed classroom limit, how it would define a “foreign” pupil, whether nationality or language ability would be decisive, or what would happen in districts where many local children come from migrant families.
It has also not explained how compulsory language learning for parents would be organised, funded or enforced. Those details will determine whether the measure provides practical support or creates new administrative barriers for families already dealing with schools, employment and residence procedures.
Schools cannot easily redistribute children when residential patterns concentrate families of similar backgrounds in particular neighbourhoods. A rigid cap could therefore require pupils to travel to schools outside their local area. It could also place greater pressure on municipalities to provide transport, language teaching and sufficient places elsewhere.
The distinction between foreign nationality and language needs will be especially important. A pupil without Italian citizenship may have been born in Italy and speak Italian fluently, while a recently arrived Italian citizen may still require language support. Applying a limit according to passports alone would not necessarily address the educational problem identified by the government.
A specific ban on full-face veils
Meloni referred specifically to the burqa and niqab, garments that cover the face. She did not propose prohibiting the hijab, which covers the hair while leaving the face visible.
Italy already has a public-order rule concerning concealed faces. Article 5 of the country’s 1975 law on public order prohibits helmets or other means that make identification difficult in public places without a justified reason. However, that provision does not amount to an unqualified national ban on Islamic veils. Its interpretation has depended on context, security considerations and whether a person can be identified when required.
The new proposal would establish an explicit rule for schools. The government has not yet said whether it would apply only to pupils or also to parents, staff and visitors. Nor has it specified possible exemptions or the consequences of breaching the rule.
Supporters of restrictions on full-face coverings often invoke identification, communication and gender equality. Critics argue that rules aimed expressly at Muslim clothing can stigmatise women and girls, exclude them from public life or treat their religious choices as inherently suspect.
European courts have allowed governments some discretion over face-covering restrictions, but the wider debate remains unsettled. As earlier European Times coverage of veil restrictions noted, such policies raise overlapping questions about religious freedom, security, gender and discrimination.
Integration will depend on implementation
Language support can materially improve children’s educational prospects and help parents communicate with teachers. Distributing additional needs more evenly between schools may also prevent individual institutions from being left without adequate staff or resources.
But successful integration requires more than a ceiling on enrolment. Schools need trained language teachers, mediation services, manageable class sizes and cooperation with families. Measures that move pupils without providing that support may redistribute the challenge rather than resolve it.
The government will also need to demonstrate that any distinction between pupils is objective, proportionate and consistent with equal-treatment guarantees. Rules affecting religious expression must balance legitimate school and identification requirements against freedom of religion and the right to education.
The next significant development will be publication of the government text. Until then, Meloni’s announcement establishes a clear political direction but leaves the measure’s legal scope, educational impact and safeguards unresolved.
