Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans for new school rules covering full-face veils and the proportion of foreign students in classrooms. The proposals are expected to go before Italy’s Council of Ministers, meaning they remain at the announcement and legislative-preparation stage rather than being laws already in force.
The measures would prohibit burqas and niqabs in Italian schools, introduce a legal maximum for foreign students in each class and require some parents of foreign pupils with serious integration difficulties to learn Italian. The plans have prompted support within the governing majority and criticism from opposition politicians and constitutional-law experts.
What Meloni has proposed
Meloni outlined the measures during a speech at Fenix, a festival organised by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth movement of her Brothers of Italy party. She said the government would bring forward a bill focused on schools.
The proposed package would include:
- A ban on wearing burqas and niqabs in classrooms.
- A statutory maximum number of foreign students per class.
- Italian-language learning requirements for parents of foreign students experiencing serious integration difficulties.
The announcement does not itself change Italian law. The proposals would still need to be examined through the national legislative process, and their final wording, scope and implementation arrangements have not been confirmed in the source material.
Italy’s existing limit and earlier initiatives
Italy already has a 30% limit on non-Italian pupils set out in a 2010 ministerial circular. The limit has often been difficult to apply because of local population patterns, school capacity and the practical challenges of reorganising classes, particularly in urban areas.
Meloni’s announcement follows several earlier initiatives:
- Education and Merit Minister Giuseppe Valditara had considered action on full-face veils through an amendment to a security bill.
- Futuro Nazionale, the party founded by MEP Roberto Vannacci, backed a resolution against full-face veils in the Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Committee after the text was redrafted at the government’s request.
- The League introduced a Senate bill seeking changes to Article 5 of Italy’s 1975 Reale law on masking in public places.
The Senate proposal described in the source would create an offence related to forcing another person to conceal their face, with proposed prison terms, fines and possible consequences for citizenship applications. It is separate from Meloni’s newly announced school-focused package.
How full-face veil rules differ across Europe
The debate places Italy among a group of European countries that have adopted restrictions on concealing the face. These rules vary significantly: some apply in all public places, while others cover specific settings such as schools, public transport or government buildings.
- France: A nationwide ban on concealing the face in public places was introduced in 2011. The European Court of Human Rights later upheld it.
- Belgium: The country adopted a broad public-space ban in 2011, including penalties for violations.
- Bulgaria: Full-face veils have been prohibited in state, administrative and educational institutions since 2016.
- Austria: Facial features must remain visible in public under an anti-mask law. From September 2026, girls aged up to 14 are prohibited from wearing certain Islamic-style head coverings at school.
- Denmark: A nationwide restriction introduced in 2018 includes escalating financial penalties for repeat offences.
- The Netherlands: A partial ban applies in schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport.
- Switzerland: A federal public-space ban followed a national referendum and entered into force in 2023.
- Portugal: The country completed its legislative process in August 2026 on a law prohibiting face concealment in public spaces and providing for financial penalties.
Germany does not have a nationwide public-space ban, although federal rules restrict face covering for certain public employees, judges, armed-forces personnel and motorists. Several Länder also have school and university restrictions.
What the terms mean
A burqa traditionally covers the body and includes a mesh covering over the eyes. A niqab covers the face while leaving a narrow opening for the eyes. A hijab generally covers the hair and neck but leaves the face visible. Meloni’s proposal concerns the first two garments, not headscarves that leave the face uncovered.
Would Italy be the first European country to cap foreign pupils?
The proposed classroom limit would be different from face-covering rules. According to the source, Italy would become the first European country to introduce a specific national regulation setting a maximum number of foreign students per class.
Other countries have used different methods to address concerns about school segregation and integration. Denmark has allowed upper-secondary schools to introduce caps of up to 50% for pupils described as being of non-Western origin or from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It has also used measures intended to encourage social and ethnic mixing.
France does not permit quotas based on ethnic or religious origin because of constitutional principles and restrictions on collecting such statistics. Instead, authorities use school zoning and catchment-area changes to connect schools serving different socioeconomic communities. In areas with high migrant concentrations, class sizes may also be reduced.
Criticism and constitutional questions
Supporters of the proposals argue that schools need stronger tools to manage integration and prevent any group of pupils from becoming isolated. Critics question whether restrictions could conflict with children’s educational rights and the role of schools in integration.
Constitutional-law professor Salvatore Curreri told ANSA that Article 34 of Italy’s Constitution states that education is open to everyone, including foreign children. He warned that measures forcing minors and families to relocate could be excessive if they undermined the integration purpose of schooling.
Green Europe co-spokesperson and AVS MP Angelo Bonelli also criticised the plans, arguing that the government should focus on broader school conditions, including teachers’ pay and the functioning of the education system. These are political criticisms, and no court has yet ruled on the proposed package described here.
What happens next?
The immediate next step is consideration by Italy’s Council of Ministers. Until a bill is formally approved, presented to Parliament and passed through the legislative process, the measures remain proposals. Their legal effect will depend on the final text, parliamentary approval and any subsequent implementation rules.
The debate is likely to focus on several issues:
- Whether the proposed veil ban would apply only to classrooms or to wider school premises.
- How a foreign-student limit would be calculated and enforced.
- Whether language requirements would apply to all parents or only specified cases.
- How the measures would be reconciled with constitutional guarantees on access to education.
- Whether the rules could be challenged before Italian courts.
Conclusion
Meloni’s announcement puts school integration, religious dress and classroom composition at the centre of Italy’s political debate. For now, the full-face veil ban and foreign-student cap are proposed measures, not enacted law. The Council of Ministers and the subsequent parliamentary process will determine whether they advance, how they are drafted and what protections or limits are included.
