Full-face veils would be prohibited in classrooms and parents of foreign pupils would be required to attend Italian lessons under a package of measures Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni set out at a Gioventu Nazionale festival in Rome. The proposals also include a legal cap on the number of foreign students in each classroom, an element Meloni did not flesh out beyond saying she would change the existing limit.
Meloni framed the package as an integration drive, telling the crowd, "For us, anyone who comes to Italy and wants to build their future here must learn our language, understand our culture, and respect our rules." Her remarks earned a standing ovation from the youth wing of her Brothers of Italy party.
The plan would put new duties on parents, with the government saying Italian lessons would be compulsory for parents of foreign students who are having "serious difficulties integrating into the school system." If pushed through, schools would also confront restrictions on the share of foreign pupils, though Meloni did not specify how she would alter the current 30 percent cap that already sits in law.
The proposals arrive amid a wider rightward political moment. Meloni’s administration is now Italy’s longest-serving government since the Second World War and faces a rising electoral threat from the National Future party, which has gained ground in polls since February and is expected to mount a serious challenge in 2027. National Future had already called for a crackdown on burqas in schools as early as July, and elements of the governing coalition have separately sought firmer limits.
Those coalition pushes include a bill from the League earlier this year that would ban helmets or garments except in narrowly defined settings such as sporting events or places of worship. Any new curbs on face coverings must be reconciled with existing national rules: a 1975 law forbids helmets or garments that make identification difficult unless there is a justified reason, and a 2008 court ruling allowed full-face coverings for religious or cultural reasons provided identity can be checked when necessary.
The government has signalled immigration will be a central theme in next year’s general election. For these measures to become law they must win parliamentary approval within 60 days, setting up a rapid political and legal contest over enforcement, classroom policy and how Italy balances integration with civil liberties.
