Italy is preparing to ban face coverings in schools and introduce limits on the number of foreign students allowed in each class.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the planned measures on Sunday, September 20, 2026, during a youth event organised by her party.
Meloni said a package of measures would soon be presented to the Italian cabinet. The proposals include banning burqas and niqabs in schools, requiring parents of pupils experiencing “serious difficulties integrating” into the Italian school system to learn the language, and imposing a cap on places for foreign pupils.
“It is unacceptable that in an Italian classroom the children who end up feeling pushed into a corner are Italian children because they have become the minority. That cannot be allowed,” Meloni said at a rally organised by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party.
She also criticised what she described as ideological approaches to integration and argued that the proposed measures were necessary to address challenges within the school system.
Several European countries, including France and Belgium, already prohibit face coverings in public places, while Austria has introduced restrictions in schools. In countries such as Spain and Poland, freedom of conscience and religion is protected by their constitutions.
