Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to ban burqas and niqabs in schools and introduce a legal cap on the number of foreign students in each classroom, as her government sharpens its immigration and integration agenda ahead of next year’s general election.
Meloni unveiled the proposed measures during a gathering of the youth wing of her ruling Brothers of Italy party, saying the package will soon be presented to the Cabinet before being sent to Parliament for approval within 60 days. She said the reforms are intended to strengthen integration, protect women’s rights, and ensure Italian schools remain places where students attend with their faces uncovered.
The proposed legislation would prohibit face-covering Islamic veils, including the burqa and niqab, in schools. It would also require parents of foreign students experiencing what Meloni described as “serious integration difficulties” to attend Italian language classes. She argued that immigrants seeking to build their future in Italy should learn the Italian language, understand the country’s culture, and respect its laws.
Meloni also proposed setting a statutory maximum number of foreign students per classroom, although she did not specify the new limit. Italy already has a non-binding 30 percent guideline for non-Italian students in classes, introduced in 2010, but it has often not been enforced because of demographic realities in many cities. Foreign students currently account for about 11.6 percent of Italy’s school population.
The announcement comes as migration is expected to dominate Italy’s 2027 election campaign. Meloni’s government has adopted increasingly restrictive migration policies while facing growing competition from parties further to the right that are calling for even tougher measures.
Meloni defended the proposals as measures to improve integration rather than target religion. She said it is unacceptable for Italian children to become a minority in classrooms where language barriers prevent effective teaching, and insisted that girls should not be required to cover their faces in school in the name of cultural or religious traditions.
The proposed school ban applies specifically to face-covering veils such as the burqa and niqab, and does not include the hijab, which covers the hair but leaves the face visible. Under current Italian law, adopted in 1975, face coverings that prevent identification are already restricted in certain public circumstances, but there is no explicit nationwide ban on burqas or niqabs in schools.
The proposals have already sparked debate across Italy. School principals have questioned how a mandatory cap on foreign students would be implemented in neighborhoods where migrant children make up a large share of the student population, while opposition parties and rights advocates argue the measures could stigmatize migrant communities and raise concerns about religious freedom.
Meloni’s administration, Italy’s longest-serving uninterrupted government since World War II, has increasingly linked immigration, language proficiency, and school integration as central pillars of its domestic policy, framing the latest package as part of a broader effort to reshape Italy’s education system and migration policy.
