Children of migrants who do not speak Russian may be banned from studying in Russian schools

The State Duma of Russia has introduced a bill prohibiting the admission of migrant children to schools without a document confirming their knowledge of the Russian language. The document was published on the website of the lower house of the Russian parliament.

The bill will amend the federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation." The amendments stipulate that children of foreign citizens and stateless persons are required to pass a test for proficiency in Russian at a level sufficient to receive education at school. Those who did not pass the test are not allowed to study.

The document notes that the test procedure and its criteria should be determined by the Ministry of Education of Russia and Rosobrnadzor. At the same time, the draft law provides for free testing.

The authors of the draft explained that this law is necessary to "implement state guarantees for the quality of education," as well as to "harmonize the rights and obligations of all participants in the educational process."

"The deputies plan to consider the bill in the first reading on December 10," said one of the authors of the document - Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

If the amendments are adopted, the law is expected to come into force on April 1, 2025.