S.206 would create an Office of Professional Regulation licensure and board for early childhood educators

Legislative counsel Katie McDonough briefed the Senate Health & Welfare committee on Jan. 16 about S.206, a bill to create licensure for early childhood educators administered by the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR).

"It means an individual providing care and educational instruction to children from birth through 8 years of age in a program regulated by the CDD," McDonough said when reading the bill's definition of an early childhood educator, describing responsibilities such as planning developmentally appropriate learning experiences and maintaining a safe, inclusive environment.

Key provisions described by counsel include:

- Addition to Title 3: The bill adds early childhood educators to the list of professions governed by OPR and creates a new chapter and board of Early Childhood Educators to adopt rules, oversee licensure, and conduct hearings under 3 V.S.A. chapter 5.

- Four license categories: ECE 1 (assistant), ECE 2 (lead educator), ECE 3 (program leader/supervisor), and a family child care provider classification for home‑based providers authorized by the Department for Children and Families (DCF).

- Exemptions and overlap with existing authority: Licensed teachers under Title 16, afterschool programs, and programs exempt from DCF regulation are not covered. Counsel noted this bill does not change the regulatory roles of the Agency of Education (AOE) or DCF but requires licensees to provide families with information about which authority regulates which services and how to make complaints.

- Grandfathering and effective dates: Family child care providers practicing before 01/01/2029 may obtain the family child care license; after that date applicants must fit into ECE 1–3 categories. Transitional licenses for ECE 2 and 3 would be available for eight years after passage.

- Renewal, conduct, and disclosures: Licenses renew every two years with fees; the bill lists prohibited conduct tied to child protection registry placement and references professional standards (National Association for the Education of Young Children) for conduct rules.

- Staffing and appropriations: Section 5 contains appropriation language for fiscal year '27 and intent language for FY28. The transcript records an appropriation amount for FY27 as "$2.62 appropriated from the general fund" and lists FY28 staffing intent at $628,867; it also records an intent to distribute 1,400,000.0 from the Child Care Financial Assistance Program to OPR for initial and renewal license fees for practicing providers. (Transcript does not specify currency units for the $2.62 figure or clarify whether the 1,400,000.0 is dollars; those figures are reported as stated in committee briefing.)

Committee members raised multiple concerns: the use of the word "educator" versus "child care provider," how license classes will operate within day‑care and center settings, potential impacts on availability and cost of child care—especially in areas with provider shortages—and what data DCF can provide on provider distribution and gaps. Members asked staff to bring DCF, AOE, OPR, and stakeholder groups (including Building Bright Futures and local program leaders) to testify.

Several early childhood practitioners in the room introduced themselves and offered to testify, including Elena Bourne (early leadership institute director), Lindsay Shell (preschool director/teacher), Stephanie Slayton (Family Place executive director) and Shannon Edmonds Folsom (childcare manager for a resort).

Next steps: staff will schedule testimony from OPR, DCF, AOE and practitioners; the committee will take up S.206 in future sessions. No formal vote took place during this meeting.