Meloni plans to ban burqas and niqabs in Italian schools, cap foreign students in classrooms

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday (September 20, 2026) she'll soon introduce a measure to her government that would cap the number of foreign students in classrooms and ban the wearing of burqas and niqabs in schools.

Ms. Meloni told the youth wing of her nationalist conservative Brothers of Italy party that the measure would also make Italian language lessons compulsory for parents of foreign students having “serious difficulties integrating into the school system.”

“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,” she said to a standing ovation at the Gioventù Nazionale national festival in Rome. “It is the only serious way to welcome them.”