Only just over half of southern Italy’s schools have accessible disabled toilets

School accessibility in Italy is improving unevenly, with the South facing the sharpest shortcomings, according to a Tuttoscuola study based on official data for the 2023-24 school year.

Among 29,639 school buildings equipped with stairs to reach upper floors, 74.5% met accessibility standards for students with disabilities. The Islands recorded the highest rate, at 81.4%, followed by the Northwest at 80.4% and the Northeast at 78.4%. The figure fell to 69.5% in central Italy and 66% in the South.

The regional gap widened for lifts and other equipment. Of Italy’s 39,993 school buildings, 74% were not on the ground floor and required stairs, lifts, stair lifts or raising platforms for students with motor or sensory disabilities. Only 15,961 of these multi-storey buildings, or 53.9%, had such equipment. Coverage reached 66.5% in the Northwest but just 36.5% in the South. The Northeast stood at 58.2%, central Italy at 55.3% and the Islands at 51.7%.

Adapted toilets showed a similar divide. A total of 27,131 buildings, or 67.8%, had suitable facilities. The Northwest reached 79.6% and the Northeast 73.8%, while central Italy and the Islands were close to the national average. The South lagged at 53.7%.

Some regional differences were even wider. Valle d’Aosta reported adapted toilets in 95.7% of school buildings, compared with 44.2% in Calabria and 42.4% in Campania. Neither of those southern regions reached half of their buildings.