{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-scotland-act-1980/section-9",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-scotland-act-1980/section-9.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1980/44",
  "legislation_title": "Education (Scotland) Act 1980",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-scotland-act-1980",
  "path": "section/9",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "9",
  "heading": "Conscience clause.",
  "text": "Every public school and every grant-aided school shall be open to pupils of all denominations, and any pupil may be withdrawn by his parents from any instruction in religious subjects and from any religious observance in any such school; and no pupil shall in any such school be placed at any disadvantage with respect to the secular instruction given therein by reason of the denomination to which such pupil or his parents belong, or by reason of his being withdrawn from any instruction in religious subjects.",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 9 substituted (31.12.2004) by Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (asp 6), s. 61(2), sch. 2 para. 3(3); S.S.I. 2004/528, art. 2(b)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "words repealed",
      "affecting": "asp/2026/9",
      "affecting_title": "Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Act 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "asp/2026/9",
      "affecting_title": "Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Act 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "words renumbered as s. 9(1)",
      "affecting": "asp/2026/9",
      "affecting_title": "Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Act 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2026/9",
      "affecting_title": "Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Act 2026"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/44/section/9",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:15:17.434244+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}