Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced plans Sept.20 to introduce legislation capping the number of foreign students in Italian classrooms and banning face-covering garments, including burqas and niqabs, in schools.The conservative leader said her proposed measures aim to foster integration, preserve Italian cultural identity and ensure that native children do not feel sidelined in the classroom."There’s no way that in an Italian classroom, the ones who feel marginalized are Italian children because they have become a minority," Meloni said during a speech to Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of her conservative Brothers of Italy party, in Rome, according to reports.SWEDEN VOTES AS MIGRATION, CRIME AND ECONOMY DOMINATE HIGH-STAKES ELECTIONItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends her annual press conference in Rome on Jan.
9, 2026.(Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)Under the proposal, individual classrooms would have limits on non-Italian students to prevent heavy concentrations in specific districts.Meloni did not specify the exact cap but said the government would also require mandatory Italian-language lessons for parents of foreign pupils who struggle to integrate."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," Meloni said, The Associated Press reported."It is the only serious way to welcome them."Students who don't hold Italian citizenship account for around 11.6% of school enrollment nationwide, according to Italy’s Education Ministry cited by the ISMU ETS Foundation.Under Italian law, children born to foreign parents also do not automatically gain citizenship at birth and must wait until age 18 before they can apply.RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLYItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a joint statement at the conclusion of Italian-German government consultations in Rome on Jan...