A ban on headscarves for girls up to age 14 on school grounds took effect this school year, leading to 252 meetings at the Board of Education and 87 formal reports. Vienna recorded the most activity with 210 meetings and 53 reports filed with authorities.
Regional data shows Lower Austria had nine meetings, while Burgenland reported zero. Violators face fines between 150 and 800 euros. Protests organized by SPÖ youth, communist groups, and 'Schule brennt' recently took place in Vienna and other federal states.
Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr noted that four in ten Vienna students identified as Muslim last year. While a previous ban was overturned in 2020, the Constitutional Court is not expected to rule on this current regulation until the first half of 2027.