Texas requires licensed childcare staff to complete 24 hours per year for teachers and 30 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 Texas HHSC (Chapter 746) continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Texas 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 TECPDS Registry.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 24 hours per training year |
| Annual CE hours (directors) | 30 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| Regulatory authority | Texas HHSC (Chapter 746) |
| brightwheel approved in Texas | ✓ Yes — accepted for Texas CE requirements |
| Auto‑posts to TECPDS Registry | ✓ Yes — completed course hours post automatically to staff registry accounts |
| Child Development courses in Texas | 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.
Texas Child Development training requirements
Texas childcare teachers must complete 24 hours of annual continuing education, and directors must complete 30 hours, as a condition of maintaining a license from the Texas HHSC (Chapter 746). 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 Texas 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 Texas 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:
Texas Rising Star and Child Development
TRS programs are rated Level 1 through Level 4. Staff training hours documented in TECPDS contribute to TRS’s Caregiver Qualifications criteria — one of four TRS domains. brightwheel courses auto‑post to TECPDS and cover skills directly relevant to TRS’s highest‑weighted domain: Caregiver‑Child Interactions.
Texas Rising Star program →How brightwheel connects to the TECPDS Registry
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Texas
Meet Texas Child Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Child Development courses accepted in Texas — with automatic tracking and TECPDS 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.