Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Sunday that her government will soon bring a decree to the Council of Ministers that would reshape classroom composition across Italian schools, impose Italian language requirements on certain foreign parents, and ban face-covering garments in schools.
Speaking at Fenix, the national youth festival of her Fratelli d'Italia party, Meloni said the measure aims to prevent Italian children from becoming a minority in their own classrooms.
Caps on foreign students per class
The decree will establish by law a maximum percentage of foreign students per class, transforming an existing guideline into a binding rule. A 2010 ministerial circular had already set a limit of around 30% for non-Italian students in each classroom, but the provision was widely ignored or subject to waivers.
Meloni framed the new legal cap as a matter of integration. She told supporters that it is unacceptable for Italian children to feel cornered in their own classrooms because they have become the numerical minority. The government's stated goal is to foster linguistic integration and prevent imbalanced classrooms, though practical concerns remain about implementation in areas where demographic shifts have already made Italian pupils a minority.
Language requirement for parents
The package introduces an obligation for parents of foreign students with severe integration difficulties to learn Italian. Details remain undefined: the criteria for identifying which parents fall under the requirement, the proficiency level required, course duration, and penalties for non-compliance have not yet been published.
The Federazione Lavoratori della Conoscenza (FLC CGIL), a union representing education workers, criticized the measure as more of a sanction than an integration pathway. Existing adult literacy courses are already offered through Centri Provinciali per l'Istruzione degli Adulti (CPIA), but it remains unclear whether these centers will administer the new mandatory programs or receive dedicated funding.
Under current Italian law, parents are already responsible for their children's school enrollment and attendance. Failure to comply with compulsory education rules can trigger penalties under Article 731 of the Penal Code and may affect integration agreements linked to residency permits.
Ban on face-covering attire
The decree will also prohibit the burqa and niqab in schools, requiring students to attend with their faces uncovered. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara had signaled his intent in August to propose an amendment to the security bill, citing the need to reaffirm women's dignity and equality.
The prohibition targets garments that fully cover the face. The hijab, which leaves the face visible, would not be affected. The government also raised the possibility of revoking the residency permits of parents who retaliate by keeping their daughters out of school.
Italy's 1975 "Legge Reale" (Law n. 152 of May 22, 1975) already bans wearing clothing or other means that make it difficult to identify a person in public or publicly accessible places without justified reason. The new decree is expected to strengthen and explicitly extend this framework to schools.
The Council of Ministers will discuss the measures in the coming weeks. What happens next depends on the final text: schools would need to redraw class compositions, local authorities would have to enforce parental language requirements, and families navigating the system would face new rules on dress and attendance.
