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Committee updates early‑childhood educator board composition and adds alternative qualification pathway
Summary
The Senate Committee on Government Operations reviewed amendments that change membership on the proposed early‑childhood educator board, raise training requirements for entry‑level staff and create an alternate pathway allowing unrelated college credits plus competency assessment for certain license levels.
The Vermont Senate Committee on Government Operations on April 29 reviewed amendments to the early‑childhood educator licensing provisions in a combined bill before the committee. The changes alter the proposed board composition, increase entry‑level training requirements and add an alternative pathway for applicants with unrelated college credits.
Committee staff reported that the board makeup was altered from one public member to two and from two family child‑care provider seats to one. The panel also considered new language that would require an Early Childhood Educator 1 to complete 120 hours of approved training and field experience. The memo before the committee says the nature of that field experience will be defined by rulemaking.
The amendment adds an alternative route for ECE‑2 and ECE‑3 classifications. Under the proposed language, an ECE‑2 holder must have an approved associate degree in early childhood education or a related field (minimum 60 credits), or an unrelated field combined with at least 21 approved college credits in core early‑childhood competency areas plus field experience. Similar language was added for ECE‑3 at the top of page 20 of the draft.
Jennifer Cohen of the Office of Professional Regulation said the 120‑hour requirement represents an increase from current practice. “The hundred and 20 hours is not necessarily formal education. It's training and education, but that does represent an increase,” Cohen said, adding that much current training occurs on the job and that the new language would standardize minimum training before practice.
Lauren Hibbert, deputy secretary of state, told the committee the Agency of Education’s position remains that the agency should regulate some of this space and that the agency has warned the proposal could be duplicative for people who hold AOE licensure to teach universal pre‑K. “Their position is, remains that this is duplicative, and that the agency should regulate this space,” Hibbert said. Hibbert added the bill exempts those who hold Agency of Education credentials to provide universal pre‑K from the new requirements.
Committee members asked staff to confirm how the new rules differ from current Agency of Education requirements; staff said CDD would be consulted and that field‑experience requirements would be defined in rulemaking with stakeholders. The committee did not record a final vote on the amendments during the April 29 meeting and flagged continuing conversations with the Agency of Education on scope and overlap.
Committee members said they expect additional stakeholder engagement and potential technical fixes before any final vote.
