Chapter 13: Students with Migrant Background: Diversity and Equal Treatment in Italian Schools

The chapter examines if Italian schools are fully equipped with the necessary legal instruments and policy tools not only to protect from discrimination, but also to promote substantial equality of students who might face disadvantages because of their migrant background. The EU Commission’s Action Plan on integration and inclusion is used as a framework to trace the protection of students with migrant background in the Italian legal order. Whereas the norms and policies generally prove to be accommodating towards vulnerabilities and are built on the principle of inclusion, various areas can be identified where the recognition of the need for supportive measures is not accompanied by adequate guarantees to render effective the exercise of the right to education. Legal interventions in the proposed directions would not only strengthen the process of integration and inclusion in schools, but they would contribute to a better performance also in terms of the goals laid down in the Commission’s Action Plan.