The Education (No. 2) Act 1986 is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that made various legal changes to

education in the UK Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England; whilst the Scottish Government, the Welsh G ...

. Though introduced to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

by his immediate successor Kenneth Baker, the Act was prepared by

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

's second Education Secretary,

Keith Joseph Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, (17 January 1918 – 10 December 1994), known as Sir Keith Joseph, 2nd Baronet, for most of his political life, was a British politician, intellectual and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, he ...

, an ideological opponent of "

statism In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production. While in use sinc ...

" who sought to empower parents against local bureaucrats. To this end, the Act redefined the respective roles of the government, parents,

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

(LEAs), and head teachers in school governance, giving parents equal representation with LEAs on school governing bodies and establishing for the first time a duty to hold parents' meetings. It also prohibited corporal punishment in

state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

s and

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

s receiving public funding, paving the way for its complete abolition in 1998, and forbade "political indoctrination" by teachers in schools. Section 43 of the Act, which remains in force, imposes a duty on

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

to protect

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, and in particular to ensure that "the use of any premises of the establishment is not denied to any individual or body of persons" on account of their beliefs. This measure was originally introduced in response to disruptive student protests and the rise of "

no platform No Platform, in the UK, is a form of student boycott where a person or organisation is denied a platform to speak. The British National Union of Students (NUS) established its No Platform policy in April 1974. Like other No Platform policies, it ...

" policies among student activists in the mid-1980s, and was included in the Act after pressure by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

following an earlier

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

to protect freedom of speech in universities sponsored by Conservative backbencher Fred Silvester. In 2021, the Conservative government of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

brought forward a

Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is a proposed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that would impose requirements for universities and students' unions to protect freedom of speech. The legislation would allow speakers to s ...

that would extend this duty to

students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

s. The Education (No. 2) Act was introduced to Parliament as the Education Bill, but a subsequent Education (No. 2) Bill was enacted first and became the

Education Act 1986 Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, resulting in the other bill's retitling when it became a statute.

References

United Kingdom Education Acts United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1986 1986 in education Freedom of speech in the United Kingdom Higher education in the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub