Italian schools grapple with textbook protests and student promotion dispute

In Bologna, teachers staged protests against the Ministry of Education's new national guidelines, opting for alternative teaching materials as a form of dissent. School leaders in the Lomellina area, by contrast, emphasized practical concerns such as cost and pedagogical effectiveness, choosing traditional textbooks to avoid complicating families' finances.

Separately, a 17‑year‑old student from Battipaglia who has been in a coma for 18 months was classified as "non‑classified" and denied promotion because she exceeded the legal attendance limit. Regional education officials have opened an investigation, questioning whether the rules allowing exemptions for serious health conditions were correctly applied.