Child care licensing minimally requires directors to complete 30 clock hours of orientation training, have 4 years of experience in a group child care setting, and complete 24 clock hours of training annually. The competency-based director credential is organized in four tiers. To complete the director credential at the lowest tier (provisional), applicants must have 12 semester hours of coursework in early childhood education, 6 semester hours of coursework in leadership and management, and two years of experience as an administrator. Elementary principal licensure requires a master’s degree and pre-K certification is available. At the highest tier of the statewide QRIS, directors meet the requirements with a CDA and 7 years of experience in child care. School-based state pre-K programs require principal licensure; however community-based programs do not have administrator requirements. There is one early childhood leadership degree program and no early childhood leadership academies in the state.
