united-kingdom privacy education data-protection
Is there a UK equivalent to the USA&#39;s FERPA?
<p>The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) describes rights students have to their private records in the United States. Is there an equivalent for students in the United Kingdom?</p>

<p>The UK does not have an education-specific <em>data-protection</em> law. </p>

<p>There are several laws touching on access to and privacy of educational records, though, including the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/part/XI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Children Act 1989</a>, the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/part/IX/chapter/IV" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Education Act 1996</a> and the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/18/part/4/crossheading/information" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Education Act 2005</a>.</p>

<p>And schools are also generally covered under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/1998/29" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Data Protection Act 1988</a> (DPA) and the <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">General Data Protection Regulation</a>. Under DPA, the government has also issued <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1437/contents/made" rel="nofollow noreferrer">regulations governing access to student records</a>, and these also govern access to records. For some basic information on the regs, you can check out <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/schools/pupils-info/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this article from the ICO</a>.</p>
