Meloni announces ban on burqa and niqab in Italian schools and cap on foreign students
Italy prepares school measures on face coverings and classroom enrolment
Poinews.com – Italy’s government is preparing legislation that would prohibit burqas and niqabs in schools while setting a ceiling on the number of foreign students permitted in individual classes.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the proposal would soon be considered by the Council of Ministers. The package would also require parents of foreign pupils experiencing serious difficulties integrating at school to learn Italian.
Meloni outlined the planned measures during Fenix, the festival organised by Gioventù Nazionale, the youth movement of her Brothers of Italy party. The initiative places school integration, religious dress and the distribution of pupils with foreign backgrounds at the centre of a new political debate.
“A measure is about to go before the Council of Ministers that will set in law the maximum number of foreign students allowed per class, and a measure that will make it compulsory for the parents of foreign students with serious problems of school integration to learn Italian, and that introduces a ban on burqas and niqabs at school.”
Meloni frames proposal as an integration issue
The prime minister argued that previous approaches to integration had failed to address situations in which Italian pupils may become a minority in their own classrooms. Her comments focused on the balance between supporting newcomers and maintaining what she described as effective inclusion within the national school system.
“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. Calling all this integration is yet another lie, a convenient lie for those who live off ideology, for those who preach to us from their living rooms and then send their own children to schools where this problem does not exist.”
The planned bill has not emerged in isolation. Discussions over restrictions on full-face veils have been under way in Italian institutions for months, with proposals appearing in both government and parliamentary activity.
In early August, Education and Merit Minister Giuseppe Valditara raised the possibility of addressing full-face veils through an amendment to the security bill. Before that, at the end of July, Futuro Nazionale presented a motion against the full-face veil in the Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Committee. The party was founded by far-right MEP Roberto Vannacci, who has expressed support for the measure announced by Meloni.
The resolution passed with backing from centre-right parties after being rewritten at the government’s request.
Earlier legislative proposals
Another proposal was introduced in March, when the League tabled a Senate bill seeking to amend Article 5 of the 1975 Reale law. That law, introduced during the Years of Lead by then justice minister Oronzo Reale, was designed to prohibit masking in public places.
The League’s proposal would establish a new offence for compelling someone to hide their face. The suggested punishment would range from one to two years in prison, together with fines of €10,000 to €30,000. It would also make such an offence an obstacle to obtaining Italian citizenship.
Meloni specifically referred to burqas and niqabs, which are distinct forms of Islamic clothing. A burqa traditionally covers the whole body and includes a mesh panel over the eyes; it is often light blue. A niqab generally covers the face with a black veil while leaving a narrow opening for the eyes. A hijab, by contrast, covers the hair and neck but leaves the face uncovered.
The distinction is important because the announced measure concerns garments that conceal the face, rather than headscarves that leave facial features visible.
European restrictions vary widely
European countries have adopted sharply different rules on face coverings in public life, schools and state institutions. Several governments have enacted broad restrictions, while others place stronger emphasis on constitutional protections for freedom of religion and conscience.
France introduced a general prohibition on concealing the face in public spaces in April 2011. The European Court of Human Rights later upheld that ban. Belgium adopted a comparable nationwide restriction in July 2011, with violations carrying the possibility of fines and imprisonment.
Bulgaria has prohibited full-face veils in state, administrative and educational settings since September 2016. Austria adopted an anti-mask law in October 2017 requiring faces to remain visible in public places. From September 2026, Austria is also set to bar girls aged 14 and under from wearing at school veils that cover the head in line with Islamic traditions.
Denmark imposed a national restriction in August 2018, using increasing financial penalties for repeated offences. The Netherlands took a narrower route in August 2019, applying its ban to locations including schools, hospitals, public transport and government offices.
Switzerland adopted a federal prohibition on face coverings in public places after a national referendum. Its implementing legislation entered into force in 2023. Portugal completed its own legislative process in August 2026, approving a law that bans face concealment in public spaces and introduces financial sanctions.
Other European states have chosen different legal approaches. In Spain and Poland, constitutional guarantees protecting freedom of conscience and religion shape the debate. Germany has no single nationwide prohibition, although federal rules restrict face coverings in particular contexts.
What the Italian bill could mean
If approved, the Italian measures would bring school policy into a wider European argument over integration, religious expression and the role of public institutions. The classroom cap would add another dimension by linking face-covering restrictions to the composition of school classes and parental language learning.
The proposal still requires formal consideration by the Council of Ministers and further legislative steps before it can take effect. Its eventual wording will determine how the limits on foreign students are calculated, how integration difficulties are assessed and how any school-based ban would be enforced.
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