Lower Austria reports few disputes over under-14 headscarf ban

Lower Austria has reported a calm start to the school year following the introduction of a headscarf ban for girls under 14, with education authorities expecting talks with parents in no more than 10 cases, ORF reported.

At the Europamittelschule Wiener Neustadt, which has 410 students, eight girls are affected by the ban. All arrived at the start of the school year without headscarves, according to the school’s director, Claudia Schlager.

“The headscarf ban is not a major issue for us,” Schlager told ORF. She said the school’s main integration challenge was the language barrier, which it was addressing through projects.

Wiener Neustadt has the highest proportion of residents with a migration background among Lower Austria’s administrative districts, at 32.7 percent, according to 2026 Statistics Austria data. It was followed by St. Pölten at 29.6 percent and Krems an der Donau at 28 percent. Zwettl had the lowest share, at 4.1 percent.

Other schools in Wiener Neustadt also reported a smooth implementation. Andreas Stich, director of Bundesgymnasium Zehnergasse, described the first days as “very calm, pleasant and orderly”. No girl in the lower grades had arrived at school wearing a headscarf.

At Bundesrealgymnasium Gröhrmühlgasse, school director Gerald Stachl said staff had reported no violations. The school had had several girls under 14 wearing headscarves the previous year.

Bundesgymnasium Babenbergerring has about 90 students who identify as Muslim, including around 60 in the lower grades. Director Martin Seitz said some were practising Muslims but had not worn headscarves at school even before the ban.

Sportmittelschule Wiener Neustadt is relying on open communication with parents. Lower Austria’s education authority said talks with parents would take place in the coming days in a maximum of 10 cases across the state.

Vienna has reported individual difficult cases. A rapid survey of the city’s 550 primary, middle and special schools found at least some cases across the city, according to Thomas Krebs, deputy chairman of the Vienna state teachers’ central committee. Conflicts had also occurred in primary schools, although they were more common in secondary education. About half of the cases reported so far had been resolved, including instances in which parents had sent their daughters to school wearing headscarves because they were unaware of the rule.