A Classroom Cap in Rome, and the Apennine School That Already Closed

The Italian government has adopted a decree law capping the number of pupils with a poor command of Italian in each class and banning the burqa and niqab in schools, according to the BBC and Deutsche Welle. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the measures as "common-sense tools that do not divide but really help to integrate", the BBC reported.

The Guardian reported that critics accused Meloni of "running scared" and of ramping up divisive rhetoric to court far-right voters ahead of next year's general election. The New York Times said the stated goal was better integration of non-Italian-speaking children, while critics saw an attempt to appease anti-immigrant sentiment. The Local Italy confirmed the cabinet adopted the decree on Thursday.

The measures now move through the parliamentary process, where a decree must be converted into law within a set period or lapse. None of the foreign outlets reporting the decision offered a figure for how many pupils the cap would affect, and none described how it would be applied in schools with few foreign pupils or none.