Overview
- Austria’s lower house approved the measure by a large majority, with the Greens opposed and the far-right Freedom Party backing it while pushing to extend it to staff.
- Officials plan an explanatory period from February with no penalties, followed by enforcement at the start of the 2026/27 school year in September.
- Parents face fines of €150 to €800 for repeated non-compliance, and teachers would notify school administrators rather than enforce the rules directly.
- The government estimates roughly 12,000 girls could be affected, and supporters frame the policy as protecting minors from coercion and sexualisation.
- Amnesty International and Austria’s official Muslim body IGGÖ call the law discriminatory and stigmatising, and legal challenges are expected after the 2020 top court ruling against a previous ban.