Lawmakers move to keep migrants’ children out of schools if they can’t demonstrate Russian language fluency

On Monday, lawmakers submitted draft legislation to the State Duma that would prohibit schools from enrolling the children of foreign nationals without proof of Russian language proficiency. The bill would make federal education officials responsible for creating and administering a free test to evaluate prospective students. If adopted, the new requirements would take effect in April 2025.

The law’s sponsors say the measure is necessary to guarantee the quality of education and “harmonize the rights and responsibilities of all participants in the educational process.”

The Russian authorities have implemented a series of policing and legislative measures hostile to the country’s large migrant community since March 2024, following a deadly mass terrorist attack at a concert hall outside Moscow that claimed the lives of at least 145 people. Police apprehended four of the suspected gunmen, all of whom are Tajikistani nationals.