Italy's new school proposal: Burqa, niqab ban, foreign-student cap decoded

Italy plans burqa, niqab ban and foreign-student cap: What changes for migrants?

 Italy is preparing new school and integration measures that could affect migrant families, including a proposed ban on burqas and niqabs in schools, a cap on foreign students in classrooms and compulsory Italian-language lessons for some parents of foreign students.

 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the proposals on September 20, 2026, at an event organised by the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party. AFP reported that the proposals will first go before the Italian government and would then require parliamentary approval within 60 days to become law.

 

 Reuters reported that Meloni said a measure would soon be presented to a Cabinet meeting.

  

What is Italy proposing?

 

Meloni has proposed three main measures for schools.

 

First, Italy would ban burqas and niqabs in schools. Second, the government would establish a maximum number of foreign students allowed in a class. Third, parents of foreign students experiencing serious difficulties integrating into the school system would be required to learn Italian. 

 

Meloni said people who come to Italy and want to build their future there should learn the Italian language, understand Italian culture and respect the country's rules.

 

"A measure will soon be presented to a ​Cabinet meeting to legally establish a maximum number of foreign students per class. It also requires parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system to ​learn Italian and bans burqas and niqabs in schools," Meloni told an ​annual gathering of the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party.

 

"If there is ‌only one child in a class who doesn't understand Italian, that child will likely be able to learn the language and integrate quickly with the help of classmates and teachers. However, if the number of children who don't understand ​the language becomes ​large - or even ??the majority - that is no longer integration; it is neglect," she added.

 

Meloni did not specify what the maximum number ​of foreign students per class would be.

 

Students who are ​not Italian ??citizens account for 11.6% of those enrolled in Italian schools — nearly 12 in every 100 students — according to Fondazione ISMU, a research institution.

 

Is this a new immigration rule?

 

Not at this stage.

 

The announcement concerns schools and integration, rather than introducing a new work visa, student visa or residence-permit category.

 

The Associated Press reported that the proposal would need parliamentary approval after being approved by the government before it could become law.

 

What exactly would be banned?

 

The proposal specifically refers to burqas and niqabs, which are full-face coverings.

 

The hijab has not been included in Meloni's announcement. The Associated Press also reported that the proposal does not address the hijab.

 

Is the burqa or niqab already banned in Italy?

 

Italy does not currently have a specific nationwide law expressly banning burqas or niqabs.

 

According to Reuters, a 1975 law prohibits the use of helmets or garments that make identification difficult without a justified reason. A 2008 ruling by Italy's highest administrative court subsequently clarified that full-face coverings could be worn for religious or cultural reasons, provided the face is revealed when identity verification is required.

 

The new school proposal would therefore create a specific restriction in the education setting if it is approved and enacted.

 

Al Jazeera also reported that Italy's League party, which is part of Meloni's governing coalition, has separately submitted legislation proposing broader restrictions on garments that make identification difficult. That is a separate legislative initiative from Meloni's school proposal.

 

What happens to foreign students?

 

Meloni has also proposed a legal limit on the number of foreign students in each classroom.

 

However, Italy already has a 30% limit on foreign students in a class and school, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera. Reuters reported that the existing limit dates from 2010.

 

What is unclear is how the new proposal would change the existing rule.

 

Meloni did not specify the new maximum number of foreign students per class in her September 20 announcement, Reuters reported.

 

Italy currently has a significant foreign-born and foreign-national student population. Reuters, citing research institution Fondazione ISMU, reported that students who are not Italian citizens account for 11.6% of enrolment in Italian schools — around 12 out of every 100 students.

 

That figure is important because the proposed cap would operate against a background in which foreign students already make up more than one-tenth of school enrolment.

 

Will parents have to learn Italian?

 

Another proposed change concerns parents.

 

Meloni said parents of foreign students who have "serious difficulties integrating into the school system" would be required to learn Italian. Reuters reported the proposed requirement but also noted that Meloni did not set out detailed implementation rules.

 

What happens next?

 

Meloni has said the measure will be brought before the Italian Cabinet. If the government approves it, it would then have to go through Parliament. The Associated Press reports that parliamentary approval would be required within 60 days for the measure to become law.

 

Experts flag implementation challenges

 

The proposals have already drawn questions from Italy's education and legal communities. Salvatore Curreri, professor of constitutional law at the University of Enna, told ANSA that Article 34 of Italy's Constitution makes schools open to everyone and described schools as an important tool for integrating children of foreign nationals. He cautioned that a measure could become excessive if it forced children and their families to move far from their existing communities. 

 

Antonello Giannelli, president of Italy's National Association of School Principals, meanwhile, has highlighted the practical difficulty of imposing a numerical cap. If a school is located in an area where foreign students make up a large share of the local child population, schools cannot simply reject children living in the neighbourhood, he argued.

 

The issue is particularly relevant because Italy already has a 30% framework for foreign students, while non-Italian citizens currently account for about 11.6% of school enrolment nationally, according to figures cited by Reuters and Al Jazeera

 

If the existing limit is already difficult to apply in areas with high concentrations of migrant families, what would a new legal cap actually change? With inputs from Agencies