Child care licensing minimally requires that directors have a minimum of a CDA with 4,500 hours of experience in a licensed child care program, and 3 semester hours of college credit in administration or early childhood leadership and supervision. The competency-based director credential, at the base level, requires a minimum of 24 semester hours in early childhood education and 1 or more years of experience in administration. It does not require any additional business or administration coursework. New Hampshire offers Licensed Plus, a two level QRIS that does not require any additional qualification standards for directors. Elementary principal licensure requires a master’s degree and teaching experience, but pre-K content and experience are not required. New Hampshire does not have a state funded pre-K program. There are two universities that offer early childhood leadership degree programs.
