Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Announces Plan to Ban Burqas and Niqabs in Schools and Cap Foreign Students per Classroom

Key facts

• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced plans on September 20, 2026, at the Gioventù Nazionale national festival of her Brothers of Italy party in Rome to ban burqas and niqabs in schools and cap the number of foreign students per classroom.
• The proposed measures would also make Italian language lessons compulsory for parents of foreign students facing serious difficulties integrating into the school system, though the government has not specified what the classroom limit would be.
• Foreign citizens currently account for about 11.6% of school enrolments in Italy, and Meloni's remarks did not include the hijab.
• The proposal has not yet become law; once approved by the government, it would require parliamentary approval within 60 days to pass into legislation.
• Meloni's announcement comes ahead of a general election expected next year.
• Earlier this month, Meloni's conservative administration became Italy's longest-serving uninterrupted government since the Second World War.