Bill
HB 5232
Requires public signage and materials of schools of excellence to disclose chartering body and primary EMO to improve transparency.
Title: Education — require authorizer and educational management organization information on school signage, advertising, and promotional materials (amends MCL 380.553)
Status & Key Dates
- Enacted as Public Act No. 211 (2024).
- Approved by Governor: January 17, 2025.
- Filed with Secretary of State: January 17, 2025.
- Effective date: April 2, 2025.
Purpose / Intent
- To increase transparency about who authorizes and who manages certain charter-style public schools by requiring disclosure of the school’s authorizing body and, where applicable, its primary educational management organization (EMO) on public-facing materials.
What the law requires (principal provisions)
- Contracts: Authorizing bodies must include the disclosure requirement in contracts to organize and administer a “school of excellence” that are entered into, extended, renewed, or modified on or after the law’s effective date. (HB 5232 amends section 553, which governs schools of excellence.)
- Required disclosures: The school’s board of directors must list (or verbally provide, if applicable) the names of:
- the charter/authorizing body, and
- the primary educational management organization (if one is responsible for both administrative and instructional services),
on:
- signage erected, repaired, or installed on school property on/after the effective date (not required where local ordinance or zoning prohibits it);
- promotional material (billboards, internet, TV, or radio ads) created, modified, or distributed on/after the effective date;
- the footer of the school’s webpages; and
- the school’s student enrollment application.
- Cyber schools: the physical signage requirement does not apply to a school of excellence that operates as a cyber school.
- Definitions: “Educational management organization” and “primary educational management organization” are defined to capture entities that contract to provide comprehensive administrative and/or instructional services.
Who is affected
- Primary: Schools of excellence (a type of public school academy/charter school) and their authorizers; boards must add contractual language for new or modified contracts after the effective date.
- Secondary: Communities, prospective families, and EMOs whose names will appear on public materials.
- Note: Companion bills (HBs 5231, 5233, 5234) impose similar requirements for other PSA categories (general PSAs, strict discipline academies, urban high school academies).
Fiscal and practical impact
- No fiscal impact on the State. Minimal, likely absorbable costs to affected schools for updating materials created/modified after the effective date. Existing signage/materials do not have to be retrofitted.
Rationale and commentary
- The measure is intended to improve public transparency so families and community members can identify the entities responsible for authorizing and managing schools of excellence. Support and opposition positions were recorded during committee review (e.g., Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Education Association supported; some policy groups opposed).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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