Alabama requires licensed childcare staff to complete annual continuing education as a condition of maintaining their childcare facility license. The Alabama DHR sets the training requirement at 12 hours per year for teachers and 24 hours per year for directors. brightwheel Professional Development courses are accepted toward Alabama’s continuing education requirements, and staff completion is tracked automatically within brightwheel.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 12 hours per training year |
| Annual CE hours (directors) | 24 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Regulatory authority | Alabama DHR |
| brightwheel approved in Alabama | ✓ Yes — accepted for Alabama CE requirements |
| Training records | ✓ Tracked automatically in brightwheel dashboard |
| Courses available in Alabama | View courses across 8 CDA competency areas |
Browse courses by competency area in Alabama
Each competency area maps to CDA standards and satisfies Alabama’s continuing education requirements. Select a competency area to explore available courses.
Safe and Healthy Environment
Health and safety, nutrition, emergency preparedness, classroom setup
Physical and Intellectual Development
Child growth, developmental milestones, motor skills, cognition
Social and Emotional Development
Social-emotional learning, behavior guidance, relationships, inclusion
Families
Family communication, partnerships, cultural responsiveness
Program Management
Administrative operations, staff management, licensing compliance
Professionalism
Professional standards, ethics, advocacy, career development
Observation and Documentation
Observational methods, documentation, assessment tools, portfolios
Child Development
Cross-cutting child development principles across all domains
Alabama Quality STARS and brightwheel
Alabama Quality STARS is Alabama’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Alabama Quality STARS quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Alabama Quality STARS, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Alabama Quality STARS →Frequently asked questions — Alabama
State‑accepted professional development courses in brightwheel
Brightwheel offers expert‑led, IACET‑accredited PD courses accepted in Alabama — with automatic tracking 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.