Italy Caps Foreign Pupils in Class, and the South Reads Its Own Numbers

The Italian government adopted a decree law on Thursday banning the burqa and niqab in schools and capping the number of students with a poor command of Italian in each class, according to The Local Italy, 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 before next year's general election. The New York Times said the stated goal was better integration of non-Italian-speaking children but that critics accused the prime minister of trying to appease anti-immigrant sentiment.

The wire does not carry the operative detail. None of the cited outlets states the numerical ceiling per class, how a pupil's Italian level would be assessed, who would do the assessing, or when the decree takes effect. Those are the questions that will decide how the rule works in a school of twenty children and in a school of twenty-five.