Alabama requires licensed childcare staff to complete 12 hours per year for teachers and 24 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 Alabama DHR continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Alabama and offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel.
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 12 hours per training year |
| Annual CE hours (directors) | 24 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Physical and Intellectual Development maps to | curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development |
| Regulatory authority | Alabama DHR |
| brightwheel approved in Alabama | ✓ Yes — accepted for Alabama CE requirements |
| Training records | ✓ Tracked automatically in brightwheel dashboard |
| Physical and Intellectual Development courses in Alabama | 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.
Alabama Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements
Alabama childcare teachers must complete 12 hours of annual continuing education, and directors must complete 24 hours, as a condition of maintaining a license from the Alabama DHR. 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 Alabama 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 Alabama 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:
Alabama Quality STARS and Physical and Intellectual Development
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 →How brightwheel connects to the Alabama training dashboard
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Alabama
Meet Alabama Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development 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.