Italy Protects Children from Sexualization. Parliament Stands with Parents’ Rights

The requirement of “informed consent”

In early June, the Italian Senate adopted a law strengthening parents’ rights with respect to school activities dealing with sexuality. The new provisions introduce a requirement to obtain the prior, informed consent of parents and increase oversight of the content conveyed to students and of the involvement of outside entities. The legislative process lasted more than a year and involved a series of changes and amendments tabled at successive stages of the parliamentary work.

In the second half of May 2025, Giuseppe Valditara, Italy’s Minister of Education representing the League (Lega) party, which forms part of the governing coalition, submitted to the Chamber of Deputies a bill intended to tighten and regulate the rules governing sexuality-related activities in schools. The bill, put forward by the conservative politician, provided for the establishment of a requirement to obtain the prior, written, “informed consent” (consenso informato) of parents (or of students who have reached the age of majority), to be given at least seven days before the activities, after detailed teaching materials and information about their conduct have been made available in advance. It also proposed excluding the organization of separate activities and projects dealing with sexuality in nurseries and primary schools, subject to the content provided for in the national curricular guidelines. In addition, the participation of outside entities in educational activities would be approved by the school authorities on the basis of criteria concerning their qualifications and their consistency with the objectives and the level of maturity of the students.

In the course of the legislative work (in October), amendments were tabled to the bill, calling for the ban on conducting any activities relating to sexuality to be extended to lower secondary schools (which cover children and young people aged 11 to 14). These amendments were subsequently adopted by the 7th Committee on Culture, Science and Education operating within the Chamber of Deputies.

The bill, incorporating the amendments tabled at the further stages of the legislative process, was then put to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, which on 3 December 2025 voted in favor of its adoption. Of the 265 members of parliament present in the chamber, 151 voted in favor of the bill, 113 voted against, and 1 deputy abstained.

The Senate backs the protection of children’s and parents’ rights

The bill was subsequently referred for work in the Senate. In a vote held on 4 June of this year, the upper house of the Italian Parliament voted in favor of its adoption – 78 senators voted for the bill, while 38 members of parliament voted against. As a result, the bill was finally enacted and became binding law.

The new Italian law preserves the essential premises of the original government bill, the aim of which was to strengthen parents’ rights with respect to school activities touching on the subject of sexuality. Under the adopted provisions, schools are required to obtain the prior, informed consent of parents or of students who have reached the age of majority for participation in such activities, and before that consent is given they must make available the teaching materials and provide detailed information about the objectives, content and manner of conducting the activities. The law also provides for special rules on engaging outside experts, whose qualifications and experience are to be assessed by the school authorities. Furthermore, in nurseries and primary schools the possibility of organizing activities devoted to matters relating to sexuality has been excluded.

In the course of the parliamentary work, the bill was supplemented with additional guarantees for parents and students, including an obligation to provide information about alternative activities envisaged for those not taking part in this type of activity, and a requirement that a teacher be present during activities conducted with the participation of minors.

The final version of the bill did not manage to retain the amendment adopted in October 2025 by a parliamentary committee, which would have extended the ban on conducting sexuality-related activities to lower secondary schools as well (secondary schools for students aged approximately 11–14). “The adoption of the new provisions passed by the Italian parliament should be assessed positively as a measure serving to strengthen the protection of children and young people in this particularly sensitive sphere relating to psychosexual development. The law is based on the premise that it is parents who bear the primary responsibility for raising their children, and that they should therefore have a real opportunity to acquaint themselves with the content conveyed at school and to decide on their children’s participation in activities concerning sexuality. The adopted solutions increase the transparency of the activities of educational institutions while at the same time strengthening the guarantees of respect for the rights of the family as the fundamental educational environment. In this context, the Italian regulations may serve as an example of an attempt to reconcile the tasks of the school with the need to ensure that children are protected in a manner appropriate to their age and degree of maturity, and that the rights of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own convictions are respected,” emphasizes Patryk Ignaszczak, an analyst at the Ordo Iuris Center for International Law.

Source of photo: iStock