World News

Italy bans classroom face veils and limits non-fluent students

A government decree prohibits burqas in schools and caps students lacking Italian fluency at 30% per class.

Updated Sep 25, 2026 · 06:30 UTC2 reports

The short version

Italy's government passed an immediate decree barring the burqa and niqab in schools and capping students with insufficient Italian skills at 30% per classroom.[ABC News]
Officials framed the policy as an integration tool for schools, while opposition leaders and unions criticized it as political propaganda with inadequate funding.[ABC News · BBC News]
The decree requires formal ratification by the Italian parliament within 60 days to remain permanently in effect.[ABC News · BBC News]

The decree establishes a 30% per-class cap on pupils with insufficient Italian-language skills and bans the burqa and niqab in schools.[ABC News · BBC News]
The measure takes effect immediately as a decree law but requires ratification by parliament within 60 days.[ABC News · BBC News]
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara stated the restriction is linguistic rather than based on citizenship, while describing the veil ban as promoting gender equality.[BBC News]
Teachers' unions stated a 14-million-euro funding package is insufficient to hire the necessary language teachers and cultural mediators.[ABC News]
The decree formally codifies into law a 30% guideline originally established by a 2010 ministerial notice.[BBC News]

School administrators, including the president of the National Association of Principals, questioned the logistical feasibility of enforcing the classroom ratio in immigrant-dense neighborhoods without forcing young students to commute long distances.[ABC News]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.