Tennessee requires licensed childcare staff to complete 12 hours per year for teachers and 18 hours per year for directors of continuing education as a condition of state licensing. Physical and Intellectual Development training counts toward these requirements — topics such as curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development are recognized qualifying categories under the Tennessee DHS continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Tennessee and offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel. brightwheel courses auto‑post completed hours directly to the Tennessee TNPAL Registry.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 12 hours per training year |
| Annual CE hours (directors) | 18 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Physical and Intellectual Development maps to | curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development |
| Regulatory authority | Tennessee DHS |
| Notes | TN DHS Report Card for Family and Group Child Care Homes (Authorization No. 345763, Feb 2019): Minimum Standards require Primary Educator = 18 clock hrs/yr; Educator = 12 clock hrs/yr. Source: Tennessee DHS childcare facility standards documentation. |
| brightwheel approved in Tennessee | ✓ Yes — accepted for Tennessee CE requirements |
| Auto‑posts to Tennessee TNPAL Registry | ✓ Yes — completed course hours post automatically to staff registry accounts |
| Physical and Intellectual Development courses in Tennessee | View brightwheel courses |
About Physical and Intellectual Development (CDA II)
Physical and Intellectual Development — CDA Competency Area II — covers the skills educators need to support children’s cognitive, language, and physical growth through intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences from birth through age 5.
The first five years represent the most rapid period of brain development in the human lifespan. Educators who understand how children build language, think, and develop physically are better equipped to design environments and interactions that accelerate school readiness and close developmental gaps early.
Tennessee Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements
Tennessee childcare teachers must complete 12 hours of annual continuing education, and directors must complete 18 hours, as a condition of maintaining a license from the Tennessee DHS. Physical and Intellectual Development training counts toward these hours — curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Tennessee and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Physical and Intellectual Development competency area.
Both teachers and directors can complete brightwheel’s Physical and Intellectual Development 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 Tennessee licensing audits.
What Physical and Intellectual Development training covers
brightwheel’s Physical and Intellectual Development courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
Star-Quality Child Care Program and Physical and Intellectual Development
Star-Quality Child Care Program is Tennessee’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Star-Quality Child Care Program quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Star-Quality Child Care Program, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Star-Quality Child Care Program →How brightwheel connects to the Tennessee TNPAL Registry
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Tennessee
Meet Tennessee Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development courses accepted in Tennessee — with automatic tracking and Tennessee TNPAL Registry auto‑posting built in.
View full course roster
Accreditation: Brightwheel is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.