Italy approves school burqa and niqab ban and 30% cap on pupils with weak Italian

Italy's government approved a school ban on the burqa and niqab and a 30% cap on pupils without Italian citizenship or poor Italian in first-year primary, middle and high school classes. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the measures common-sense integration tools. Opposition parties accuse the government of pandering to hard-right Futuro Nazionale ahead of next year's election. The hijab is excluded; Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said the limit is linguistic, not citizenship-based.