Washington requires licensed childcare staff to complete 10 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 Washington DCYF continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Washington 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 Washington MERIT Registry.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 10 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Professionalism maps to | professional development, ethics, and career advancement |
| Regulatory authority | Washington DCYF |
| Notes | DCYF fiscal year Jul 1–Jun 30; up to 5 hrs carry over |
| brightwheel approved in Washington | ✓ Yes — accepted for Washington CE requirements |
| Auto‑posts to Washington MERIT Registry | ✓ Yes — completed course hours post automatically to staff registry accounts |
| Professionalism courses in Washington | 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.
Washington Professionalism training requirements
Washington childcare staff must complete 10 hours of annual continuing education as a condition of maintaining a license from the Washington DCYF. Professionalism training counts toward these hours — professional development, ethics, and career advancement are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Washington 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 Washington 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:
Early Achievers and Professionalism
Early Achievers is Washington’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Early Achievers quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Early Achievers, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Early Achievers →How brightwheel connects to the Washington MERIT Registry
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Washington
Meet Washington Professionalism training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Professionalism courses accepted in Washington — with automatic tracking and Washington MERIT 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.