Indiana requires licensed childcare staff to complete annual continuing education as a condition of maintaining their childcare facility license. The Indiana FSSA (470 IAC 3-4.7-35) sets the training requirement at 12 clock hours per year — the same floor applies to directors, teachers, and caregivers across licensed centers, licensed homes, registered ministries, and school-age programs. brightwheel Professional Development courses are accepted toward Indiana’s continuing education requirements, and staff completion is tracked automatically within brightwheel.
| Annual CE hours (all staff, incl. directors) | 12 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Regulatory authority | Indiana FSSA |
| brightwheel approved in Indiana | ✓ Yes — accepted for Indiana CE requirements |
| Training records | ✓ Tracked automatically in brightwheel dashboard |
| Courses available in Indiana | View courses across 8 CDA competency areas |
Some sources cite a “20‑hour” figure — that applies only to lead caregivers who don’t meet Indiana’s educational qualifications (12 base hours + 8 additional). Paths to QUALITY™ (PTQ), Indiana’s QRIS, separately requires 15 hours/year at Level 2 and 20 hours/year at Level 3 — those are QRIS requirements above the licensing floor, not the licensing requirement itself.
Browse courses by competency area in Indiana
Each competency area maps to CDA standards and satisfies Indiana’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
Paths to QUALITY and brightwheel
Paths to QUALITY is Indiana’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Paths to QUALITY quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Paths to QUALITY, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Paths to QUALITY →Frequently asked questions — Indiana
State‑accepted professional development courses in brightwheel
Brightwheel offers expert‑led, IACET‑accredited PD courses accepted in Indiana — 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.