Vermont committee reviews plan to license early childhood educators, create state board

Vermont lawmakers and stakeholders on Tuesday reviewed a proposal to license individual early childhood educators working in programs regulated by the Child Development Division (CDD) and to create a Vermont Board of Early Childhood Educators to oversee the new credentialing system.

Supporters, including the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) and the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (Vermont AEYC), said the bill—filed as H.472 and incorporating Senate bill S.119—would create uniform qualifications and individual accountability for people who care for children from birth through age 8 in CDD-regulated family and center-based programs. "The Senate Government Operations Committee feels strongly that early childhood educators should have a dignified, professional licensure process," said Senator Mike, who presented the Senate additions to the committee's version of the bill.

The proposal would establish four credential types: ECE 1 (an assistant level requiring a short certificate and field hours), ECE 2 (lead teacher, generally an associate degree or equivalent credits), ECE 3 (lead teacher/center director, generally a bachelor's degree), and a time-limited family child-care provider category for currently operating home providers who apply within the grandfathering window. "This license is intended to be complimentary, not duplicative," said Sharon Harrington, executive director of Vermont AEYC, describing the bill's relationship to Agency of Education teacher licensing.

OPR said it completed a Sunrise review supporting licensure for early childhood educators in CDD-regulated settings and recommended phased implementation to avoid workforce loss. "We absolutely support licensure of early childhood educators," said Lauren Hibbert, Deputy Secretary of State, noting Sunrise findings on public protection and gaps in individual accountability when only facilities are regulated.

Under the bill language reviewed by committee staff, the Vermont Board of Early Childhood Educators would be created with nine governor-appointed members and meet beginning July 1, 2025; the statutory licensure program would phase in July 1, 2027. OPR testified that the statute contemplates transitional measures: a two-year transitional license that may be renewed up to three times (totaling six years) and, at OPR discretion, one final two-year transitional license for qualifying applicants, allowing up to eight years for some current providers to meet education requirements.

The draft also sets initial staffing and funding: fiscal year 2026 appropriations to OPR to stand up the board and two positions (an executive officer and a staff attorney) at about $262,000, and fiscal year 2027 funding for three additional classified positions (licensing, enforcement, administrative) and roughly $628,867. An additional distribution of about $1.4 million from the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) appropriation was included to cover initial licensure and renewal fees for the program's first years.

The bill specifies scope of practice and exemptions. Agency of Education (AOE)-licensed teachers with early childhood endorsements would remain exempt from the OPR credential for the hours they are providing universal pre-K; private programs providing universal pre-K typically do so by employing an AOE-licensed teacher for that portion of instruction, OPR testified. The draft includes a disclosure requirement: programs would provide families information on which licenses cover which services and how to file complaints with the appropriate regulator.

Stakeholders pressed on several operational details. Committee staff noted the bill as drafted authorizes OPR to adopt rules, require examinations by rule, set renewal cycles and continuing education, and to define unprofessional conduct (including referral to the Child Protection Registry). OPR described plans for joint investigations with CDD and said OPR's investigators can handle criminal components without necessarily involving local law enforcement.

Concerns raised in testimony and in written memos include potential duplication with AOE for higher-level roles (ECE 3), the timing and length of transitional pathways, fee levels (initial and biennial), and confidentiality of complainant information during investigations; OPR requested one amendment to classify rather than exempt the executive officer position and asked the committee to consider confidentiality language for disciplinary records to avoid chilling complaints.

No committee vote or formal motion was recorded during the session. Committee members and witnesses agreed to continue detailed work on statutory language, rulemaking authority, and implementation plans in follow-up hearings.

The panel hearing the bill heard extensive workforce testimony that many early childhood educators want a portable individual credential, and advocates argued licensure could create clearer career pathways and accountability while enabling future reciprocity with other states pursuing similar frameworks. OPR and Vermont AEYC said they designed the proposal to be complementary to existing AOE and CDD regulation, not to replace those systems.

The committee will consider further amendments and implementation details in future meetings, including rulemaking timelines, qualification review processes (including prior learning assessments), and the precise public-disclosure and complaint-processing language that will govern interactions among OPR, CDD (within the Department for Children and Families/AHS), and AOE.