North Dakota requires licensed childcare staff to complete 13 hours per year of continuing education as a condition of state licensing. Professionalism training counts toward these requirements — topics such as professional development, ethics, and career advancement are recognized qualifying categories under the North Dakota HHS continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in North Dakota and offers IACET‑accredited Professionalism courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel. brightwheel courses auto‑post completed hours directly to the ND Early Childhood Workforce Registry.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 13 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Professionalism maps to | professional development, ethics, and career advancement |
| Regulatory authority | North Dakota HHS |
| Notes | Full-time (30+ hrs/wk); scales down to 7 hrs for <10 hrs/wk |
| brightwheel approved in North Dakota | ✓ Yes — accepted for North Dakota CE requirements |
| Auto‑posts to ND Early Childhood Workforce Registry | ✓ Yes — completed course hours post automatically to staff registry accounts |
| Professionalism courses in North Dakota | View brightwheel courses |
About Professionalism (CDA VI)
Professionalism — CDA Competency Area VI — covers the dispositions, ethical standards, and professional practices that characterize skilled, reflective early childhood practitioners who are committed to the field and to continuous growth.
Early childhood education is a demanding profession with high turnover and competing pressures. Professionalism training gives educators the ethical framework, reflective skills, and career perspective they need to build sustainable, meaningful careers — benefiting themselves, their teams, and the children and families they serve.
North Dakota Professionalism training requirements
North Dakota childcare staff must complete 13 hours of annual continuing education as a condition of maintaining a license from the North Dakota HHS. Professionalism training counts toward these hours — professional development, ethics, and career advancement are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in North Dakota and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Professionalism competency area.
Staff complete brightwheel’s Professionalism courses on demand — each course is 1 hour, self‑paced, and includes an assessment with a certificate of completion. All completions are recorded automatically in the brightwheel administrator dashboard, making compliance documentation straightforward for North Dakota licensing audits.
What Professionalism training covers
brightwheel’s Professionalism courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
Bright & Early ND and Professionalism
Bright & Early ND is North Dakota’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Bright & Early ND quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Bright & Early ND, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Bright & Early ND →How brightwheel connects to the ND Early Childhood Workforce Registry
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in North Dakota
Meet North Dakota Professionalism training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Professionalism courses accepted in North Dakota — with automatic tracking and ND Early Childhood Workforce Registry auto‑posting built in.
View full course roster