# Michigan Michigan certifies corrections officers through two councils, neither run by MCOLES: the Correctional Officers’ Training Council for state prison officers and the Sheriffs Coordinating and Training Office for county jail officers. The one change found for 2023 to 2026 gave county jail officers binding Act 312 arbitration in contract disputes. Bills to regulate segregation in state prisons are pending. Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/michigan ## At a glance - **Certifying body:** Two systems, neither run by MCOLES, which licenses law enforcement officers ([Michigan Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/michigan)). State correctional officers of the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC): the Correctional Officers’ Training Council, created within MDOC, sets training and education standards, and certification and annual recertification run through the Department (the statutes still say “commission of corrections”). County jail officers: the Sheriffs Coordinating and Training Office (MSCTO), an autonomous entity within MDOC headed by the Sheriffs Coordinating and Training Council, certifies and annually recertifies local corrections officers, meaning anyone a sheriff employs in a jail, work camp, or other county adult facility as a corrections officer, supervisor, or administrator ([MCL 791.531 to 791.546](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-541)). - **Statute:** Corrections Officers’ Training Act of 1982, 1982 PA 415 (MCL 791.501 et seq.), for state correctional officers; Local Corrections Officers Training Act, 2003 PA 125 (MCL 791.531 et seq.), for county jail officers; Corrections Code of 1953, 1953 PA 232 (MCL 791.201 et seq.), including jail supervision in MCL 791.262. - **Minimum standards:** State correctional officers hired after 1984 need a high school diploma or GED; a council-approved vocational certificate (at least 15 semester or 23 term credit hours), equivalent coursework, or a relevant degree; at least 2 months of supervised, paid internship in a correctional facility; and other council standards approved by the Department and the Civil Service Commission ([MCL 791.512](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-512), 791.513). Local corrections officers hired on or after January 1, 2005 must be U.S. citizens, 18 or older, with a high school diploma or GED, and must meet board-developed, council-approved standards within 12 months of employment ([MCL 791.543](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-543)). Local standards cover recruitment and selection based on work experience, education, and physical and mental fitness (MCL 791.538). - **Basic training:** State correctional officers: “A minimum of 320 hours of new employee training, as determined by the council, at the central training academy or at a college or community college” (MCL 791.512(1)(b)(iii)); MDOC must maintain a central training academy (MCL 791.515). Local corrections officers: the council sets new-employee training and course content, which must include identifying and managing prisoners with mental illness (MCL 791.538(b), (d)). The local hour count is set by MSCTO standards and was not verified. - **In-service training:** Both acts require annual recertification and continuing training set by the council (MCL 791.509, 791.513(1)(b), (c); 791.541, [791.538(b), (c)](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-538)). The statutes do not fix hours. Local training is paid for by the Local Corrections Officers Training Fund, fed by jail booking fees under MCL 801.4b (MCL 791.545). - **Decertification:** Each council must develop a “decertification process” as part of its minimum standards ([MCL 791.513(1)(e)](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-513) for state officers; MCL 791.538(e) for local officers). Grounds and procedure are set by council standards, not by statute, and were not reviewed. No public decertification list for corrections officers was found. - **Jail standards:** MDOC “shall supervise and inspect jails and lockups that are under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff” and must adopt rules and standards for their proper, efficient, and humane administration under the Administrative Procedures Act; it may grant variances. Orders may be enforced by mandamus or injunction through the Attorney General. Sheriffs must admit inspectors and keep prescribed records, and violations are misdemeanors. MDOC does not inspect or set rules for holding cells, holding centers, or lockups other than those under the county sheriff, but must give advice and services on their administration when a local unit of government asks ([MCL 791.262](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-791-262)). The MDOC jail rules were not reviewed. - **Probation and parole officers:** Adult probation and parole agents are MDOC field employees. No statute requiring state certification or fixed training hours for them was found; both corrections officer training acts cover facility officers only. - **Restrictive housing:** No statutory limit on segregation or solitary confinement was found. The only related statute found is MCL 791.267(3), which directs administrative segregation or separate housing for HIV-positive prisoners disciplined for conduct that could transmit HIV. Bills to regulate segregation (SB 1192 and SB 1193 of 2026) are pending. - **Corrections use of force:** No Michigan statute restricting restraint of pregnant prisoners or setting corrections-specific use-of-force rules was found in a full-text search of the Michigan Compiled Laws. That search was not re-run during verification, so treat this as unconfirmed. ## Changes, 2023 to 2026 - Jan 22, 2024 — **County jail corrections officers gain Act 312 compulsory interest arbitration** — 2023 PA 171 (HB 4438), amending MCL 423.232 · Signed and filed October 24, 2023; effective January 22, 2024, per the MCL history note and the legislature’s Public Act effective-date table — The act adds “a corrections officer employed by a county sheriff in a county jail, work camp, or other facility maintained by a county and that houses adult prisoners” to the definition of public police or fire department employee in 1969 PA 312. Contract impasses for these officers can now go to binding compulsory arbitration, as for police and firefighters. — **For corrections staff:** County jail officers’ bargaining units can take contract impasses to binding Act 312 arbitration. — [MCL 423.232](https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-423-232)[2023 Public Act effective dates](https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/publications/PublicActEffectiveDates/2023.docx) ## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass - **Segregation in state prisons (pending):** SB 1192 of 2026 would regulate MDOC’s use of segregation (amending MCL 791.251 and 791.252 and adding 791.264a to 791.264d), and tie-barred SB 1193 of 2026 would add a therapeutic alternative space for vulnerable prisoners (791.264e). Both are in the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety. [Legislature bill search](https://legislature.mi.gov/Search/ExecuteSearch?docTypesList=HB%2CSB&sessions=2025-2026&contentFullText=solitary+confinement) No enacted corrections change awaiting its effective date was found. ## Checked and unchanged - MCL 791.502, 791.509, 791.512, 791.513 (state officer training and standards), 791.538, 791.541, 791.543, 791.545 (local officer training), 791.262 (jail supervision), and 791.267: checked against the posted text; no 2023 to 2026 change found. - All 2023 to 2026 Public Acts were reviewed by their digest descriptions. Appropriation acts, which can carry boilerplate affecting MDOC staff, were not read. - Not verified: MSCTO academy and in-service hours, council decertification grounds, and MDOC jail administrative rules (R 791 series).