The Valditara bill has been approved, Arcigay declares, "A blow to public schools and the rights of younger generations."“
Bologna, June 4, 2026 With the Senate's final vote, the Valditara school bill becomes state law. For Arcigay, this is "a very serious political choice," declared General Secretary Gabriele Piazzoni, "which marks a further step in the authoritarian and conservative drift we have long denounced, which undermines public schools, academic freedom, and the rights of younger generations.
The law—he continues—introduces a new and dangerous principle: the idea that fundamental issues such as affection, sexuality, relationships, consent, equality, and the fight against discrimination are not part of the educational mission of schools. This vision contradicts the constitutional mandate of public education, which is called to eliminate inequalities and educate free and aware people. This law is being passed in open contradiction to the recommendations of major international organizations such as the WHO and UNESCO. Transforming affection, sexuality, and consent into suspect topics means depriving new generations of the tools needed to understand themselves, build free relationships, and recognize violence when it occurs.
Marta Rohani, school delegate in the national secretariat of Arcigay, adds: "The government is wrong to think it speaks on behalf of all families. There are thousands of parents calling for safer, more inclusive schools that teach respect for differences. We are not faced with a protective measure, but with a specific political and cultural choice: silence is preferred to education, suspicion to knowledge, control to freedom. The questions of young people do not disappear because a law attempts to silence them. Needs do not disappear, discrimination does not disappear, violence does not disappear. Only the ability to address them openly and with appropriate tools disappears. Those who will pay the highest price, once again, will be young LGBTQIA+ people, and particularly trans and non-binary people, who see their spaces for recognition and self-determination in educational settings further restricted. This law chooses to preserve a social order founded on patriarchy, gender stereotypes, and heteronormativity, rather than questioning the cultural roots of violence." and discrimination,“ concludes Rohani.
