Italy’s Senate gave final approval on Thursday to a law requiring schools to obtain written parental consent before delivering any sex or relationship education to pupils. The vote passed 78 to 38. The reform, promoted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, also bans such education entirely from nurseries and primary schools.
The legislation, known as the Valditara Bill after Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, had previously cleared the lower house of parliament last December. Thursday’s Senate vote made it law.
Under the new law, secondary schools — covering middle schools with pupils aged 11 to 14 and high schools — must secure informed written consent from parents, or from students themselves if they are over 18, before proceeding with any activities or projects relating to sexuality or emotional relationships.
The legislation mandates that schools notify families at least seven days in advance of any sexual education initiative — including details about external experts or organisations involved — and obtain explicit parental consent before implementation.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara called the Senate vote a milestone. He praised the legislature’s approval, saying the change gives control of children’s education back to parents and protects children from what he called “gender propaganda.” Valditara also said the law will bring education about the risk of sexually transmitted infections to middle schoolers for the first time and introduces mandatory “education in respect, relationships and empathy” at all levels of school.
Opposition lawmakers did not hold back. Angelo Bonelli, co-leader of the Greens and Left Alliance party, said: “Subordinating sex education to parental consent is like asking families’ permission to teach Italian literature or history — an institutional absurdity that betrays the educational mandate of public schools.”
A government spokesperson said parents will now be able to “learn about, identify and reject in advance inappropriate projects that promote gender fluidity, abortion, surrogate motherhood and an ideological vision of sexuality among minors.”
Conservative Catholic groups, including the family-values organisation Pro Vita & Famiglia, welcomed the law, saying it empowers parents to reject initiatives they deem inappropriate. Opposition parties warned it would leave adolescents without access to vital health and rights-based information.
Regional and Wider Impact
Opponents have pointed to what they describe as a contradiction: Italy has enacted tougher laws to punish gender-based violence and femicide, while simultaneously limiting the preventive education that equips young people to understand consent, healthy relationships, and equality.
Italy has long been one of the few EU countries to lack a comprehensive national approach to sex education in schools. The new law does not create a mandatory national curriculum — it establishes a consent framework around optional provision that already varied widely by school and region.
A 2025 Save the Children survey found that only 47% of Italian teenagers had received any sex education. Critics argue the opt-in requirement will push that figure lower, particularly in conservative communities where parents are less likely to give consent.
The law places Italy further apart from the mainstream of European education policy. Most EU member states treat sexual health education as a standard, compulsory part of the national curriculum. The Italian approach — requiring parental sign-off for content that other countries deliver as routine public health education — has drawn attention from European civil society groups, though no formal EU-level response had been issued as of publication.
Background
Italy’s government first presented the bill in May 2025, framing it as a measure to ensure “the prior informed consent of families in relation to school activities concerning sexuality.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a self-described “Christian mother,” won the 2022 election championing traditional family values. The Vatican still holds significant influence in the country, with its majority Catholic population making the subject of sex education in schools largely taboo. Previous moves to make sex education mandatory in Italy have consistently failed to advance through parliament. The bill cleared the Chamber of Deputies in December 2025 before reaching the Senate for a final vote.
What Happens Next
The law now moves to formal promulgation. Schools will need to update their consent procedures ahead of the next academic year to comply with the seven-day advance notification requirement. The law applies to middle and high school students, spanning ages 11 to 19. Opposition parties have indicated they intend to continue pushing back against the legislation, though no formal legal challenge had been announced as of Thursday. Advocacy organisations critical of the law are expected to monitor its implementation and publish data on parental consent rates by school and region.
