Italy Implements School Restrictions on Face Coverings and Foreign Student Enrollment

Italy faces migration challenges as integration becomes a key electoral issue ahead of the 2027 general election.

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Published On 25 Sep 202625 Sep 2026

Italy’s government has advanced legislation banning face coverings in schools and imposing a cap on foreign students in classrooms. Violations will result in fines of up to $1,140.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the proposed measures at a gathering of her nationalist conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) party’s youth wing. On Thursday, Meloni’s cabinet approved the decree-law, which prohibits burqas and niqabs in schools and introduces a 30-percent cap on non-Italian speakers in classrooms effective next year.

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Failure to comply will be punishable with a fine of up to $1,140 (1,000 euros).

The measure is a decree-law, meaning it can take effect immediately, but it must be ratified by parliament within 60 days.

President Sergio Mattarella, who also has to sign off on it, flagged this week that he was wary of any barriers being placed on education.

Meloni said the “tools” to learn Italian language and eliminate burqas and niqabs in schools were “common sense that do not divide” in a post on her X account.

“This is the direction we want to continue to follow: a school that integrates without giving up on rules, that supports those who have more difficulties and that puts everyone in a position to start from the same point,” she wrote.

Opponents said the government was using the rules to counter the growing appeal of the far-right National Future (FN) party led by former army general Roberto Vannacci ahead of next year’s elections.

FN, which has made schools a central battleground in its campaign advocating “remigration,” called for a crackdown on burqas in schools in July.

Opposition politicians accused Meloni of prioritizing culture-war politics over the interests of students and schools.

“It is a shameful decree that seeks to hide the government’s inability to address the real problems of the public school system behind a new ideological banner,” Elly Schlein, the leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said.

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said local school authorities will coordinate student placements to avoid concentrations of non-Italian-speaking pupils, while schools unable to comply would be eligible for exemptions and additional language-support funding.

He said it would affect about 1,000 classrooms, or about 0.3 percent of the total nationwide.

Teachers’ unions criticized what they called a lack of both consultation and resources for the measure.

School principals questioned how the measure could work in areas with large migrant populations.

“From an educational perspective, the issue is well-founded and valid, but it’s difficult to turn it into a practical solution,” Antonello Giannelli, president of the National Association of Principals, said.

According to Education Ministry data, non-citizen students accounted for 11.2 percent of Italy’s school population in the 2022-23 academic year, while classes with more than 30 percent foreign students represented 7.6 percent of the total.

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