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. Child Development training counts toward these requirements — topics such as child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying categories under the Tennessee DHS continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Tennessee and offers IACET‑accredited Child 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 |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| 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 |
| Child Development courses in Tennessee | View brightwheel courses |
About Child Development (CDA VIII)
Child Development — CDA Competency Area VIII — is the cross‑cutting knowledge base that connects all eight CDA competency areas. It covers principles of development across cognitive, social‑emotional, language, and physical domains, with particular depth on the birth‑to‑five window when brain growth is most rapid and most responsive to quality caregiving.
Understanding how children develop is the foundational skill of early childhood practice. Educators who know developmental milestones, understand how the brain builds neural pathways in early childhood, and recognize the lasting impact of early experiences are better equipped to make every caregiving interaction count.
Tennessee Child 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. Child Development training counts toward these hours — child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Tennessee and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Child Development competency area.
Both teachers and directors can complete brightwheel’s Child 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 Child Development training covers
brightwheel’s Child 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 Child 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 Child Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Child 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.