Russia has enacted a law prohibiting the enrollment of migrant children who do not speak Russian into schools.

The State Duma of the Russian Federation has passed a law stipulating that migrant children will only be allowed to attend Russian schools if they successfully pass a Russian language proficiency test.

Under the new law, foreign citizens wishing to provide their children with a Russian education must not only verify the legality of their stay in the country but also demonstrate their child's proficiency in the Russian language. The testing will be conducted free of charge at state or municipal educational institutions.

The methodological support for conducting the testing, the organization of developing diagnostic materials for its implementation, the criteria for evaluating Russian language proficiency, as well as the determination of the minimum score required to confirm successful completion of the testing, will be managed by the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor).

Individuals who do not pass the Russian language test at a sufficient level for mastering the educational programs of primary general, basic general, and secondary general education will not be allowed to pursue these educational programs.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the Chairman of the State Duma, highlighted the challenges faced by Russian schools that accept migrant children. According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education, last academic year, over 200,000 migrant children attended schools in Russia out of 18 million students, and teachers report that these children often struggle with the educational program and have difficulties communicating with their peers and educators.

Moreover, the language barrier creates additional challenges for educators. Teachers are required to invest more time and effort to explain material to children who do not have sufficient proficiency in Russian. This, in turn, may negatively impact the quality of education for all students in the class. Volodin emphasized that a low level of Russian language proficiency or its absence can cause stress for the child themselves.

The purpose of this law is to ensure the successful integration of migrant children into Russian society and to create equal conditions for all students. However, some experts express concerns that the new law may pose additional difficulties for migrant families, especially those who have recently arrived in Russia.

The law will take effect on April 1, 2025.