Italy's government has approved a decree that caps foreign students with insufficient Italian at 30 percent per classroom and bans burqas and niqabs in all schools. The Cabinet passed the measures on Thursday, September 24, 2026, and they took effect immediately — but parliament must approve them within 60 days.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition currently holds a majority in the legislature, which makes confirmation likely.

Meloni defended the rules on X: "Un limite del 30% nelle classi per gli studenti che non conoscono adeguatamente l'italiano, più strumenti per imparare la nostra lingua e stop a burqa e niqab a scuola" — a 30 percent classroom limit for students without adequate Italian, more tools to learn the language, and a stop to burqas and niqabs at school.

She called the measures "tools of common sense that do not divide" and said they would prevent "ghetto classes" while giving all students the "same opportunities."

What exactly does the decree change?

The rules introduce a per-classroom ceiling and new penalties:

• A cap of 30 percent per classroom for foreign students who lack sufficient proficiency in Italian.
• In primary schools, the limit applies to pupils without Italian citizenship who were not born in Italy or did not attend at least two years of preschool.
• In lower and upper secondary schools, the same 30 percent limit applies to students without Italian citizenship who have not attended Italy's school system for at least three years.
• Schools that fail to comply face a fine of up to €1,000 (about $1,140).

How does the face-covering ban work?

The decree bans burqas and niqabs in schools but continues to allow hijabs, which do not cover the face. Meloni described the burqa ban as "a matter of security."

"When a woman — or worse, a young girl — is forced to cover her face, she is being denied fundamental rights and the very integration that is so often loudly championed," Meloni said in a television interview.

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said the decree would affect roughly 1,000 classrooms nationwide — about 0.3 percent of the total.

Who do the rules affect in practice?

Official data give a sense of the scale. Pupils without Italian citizenship made up 11.2 percent of Italy's school population in the 2022–2023 academic year. Classes where foreign students already exceed 30 percent account for 7.6 percent of all classes.

Critics argue the cap could force some students to attend schools far from their own neighborhoods. School authorities have also raised questions about how the rules would operate in areas with large migrant populations.

What do opponents say?

The decree has drawn sharp criticism ahead of Italy's general election next year. Opposition leader Elly Schlein accused Meloni's government of "a new witch hunt at the expense of children."

Save the Children, an independent child rights organization, urged the government on Wednesday to weigh the measure "with the utmost political responsibility," warning it risked discriminatory effects.

"Such a criterion would create 'first-class' and 'second-class' students," the organization said in a statement.

Some critics also accuse the government of using immigration as a political issue ahead of the election. Meloni leads the most right-wing government Italy has seen since World War II.

What happens next?

The decree remains in force unless parliament rejects it within the 60-day window. With a governing majority in place, the caps and the face-covering ban are expected to become permanent law. Families and schools seeking clarity on how the rules apply to individual cases should follow guidance from Italy's Ministry of Education and official government channels.