IMPORTANT UPDATE: Google My Business will no longer allow reviews for general education schools

SEO Marketing Company in Miami

Google has announced an important change: starting April 30, 2025, schools categorized as general education institutions on Google Business Profiles will no longer be able to receive or display reviews and ratings. This update affects general education schools (primary or secondary education including elementary, middle and high schools) all over the world and is part of Google’s effort to prevent unhelpful or prank reviews.

However, this change does not affect preschools, colleges, universities, vocational schools, or postgraduate schools. If your current Google Business category does not accurately describe your institution, you may update it before April 30, 2025.

FAQs

1. What should I do if my school has multiple categories, such “Preschool” and “Elementary School”?

In such a case, Google uses the primary category to determine whether reviews stay or are removed. Therefore:

If the primary category is a general education school (Elementary, Middle or High School), your reviews will be removed and new reviews will be disabled.
If the primary category is “Preschool,” your reviews will remain, even if a general education school is listed as a secondary category.

What to do:

Log in to your Google Business Profile.
Go to: Edit Profile > Business Information > Business Category
Check your primary category.
If applicable, change it to “Preschool” or a more accurate category that is not affected by the update.
Keep “Elementary School” or others as secondary categories if needed.

2. Are there other alternatives to manage this change?

Yes, there are three other alternatives.

Option 1: Separate Google Business Profiles (Recommended if possible)

This means creating two profiles:

One for the preschool (use “Preschool” or “Child Care Center”)
One for the elementary/middle/high school (use the appropriate general education category)

Benefits: The preschool profile can continue collecting and displaying reviews.

Trade-off: The general education profile will lose reviews and will not be able to collect new ones.

Consider this if:

You have different program names or entrances
You can verify separate phone numbers or addresses
Your preschool plays a significant role in your reputation and marketing

Option 2: Single Profile (General Education Category)

If your profile is listed under “Elementary School,” “Middle School,” or “High School” as the primary category, reviews will be removed — including those for your preschool program.

Option 3: Single Profile (Preschool Category)

If your profile is categorized as “Preschool,” your reviews will remain intact. Nonetheless, this could be flagged by Google if your profile offers other general education programs under a preschool category.

Our Recommendation

If maintaining online reviews is important to your brand and your preschool is a major part of your offering we recommend:

Creating separate profiles (if eligible)
Optimizing the preschool profile to remain visible and reviewable
Including a cross-reference in each profile, such as: “Looking for grades K–5? Visit our elementary program listing.”