10A NCAC 09 .2821         enhanced EDUCATION STANDARDS FOR Teachers for A RATED LICENSE FOR CHILD CARE CENTERS

(a)  This Rule shall apply to evaluating all teachers in child care centers. The points for education standards shall be determined by applying this Rule and Rules .2819, .2820, .2822, and .2823 of this Section. To determine the points attained for meeting the education standards, the lowest number of points attained pursuant to each Rule shall be the point used to meet Rule .2802 of this Section.

(b)  To achieve two through seven points for education standards, teachers counted in staff/child ratios shall meet the applicable requirements in the following chart.

Teacher (.2821) Point Level	NC Early Childhood Credential or its equivalent	Certification on the NC Early Care and Education Professional Scale	Other Education and Experience Requirements
2 Points			50 percent of the teachers shall: (1)             Have 1 year of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (2)             Be enrolled in 3 semester hours in early childhood education or child development; or (3)             Have any combination of (1) and (2) of this requirement.
3 Points			50 percent of the teachers shall have: (1)             3 semester hours in early childhood education or child development; or (2)             2 years of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (3)             Any combination of (1) and (2) of this requirement.
4 Points	50 percent of teachers; or	50 percent of teachers at a Level I or higher.
5 Points	50 percent of teachers; or	50 percent of teachers at a Level I or higher; and	3 semester hours in early childhood education or child development; or
		50 percent of teachers at a Level II or higher; or
		Any combination of the two options.
6 Points	50 percent of teachers; or	50 percent of teachers at a Level I or higher; and either	(1)             3 semester hours in early childhood education or child development and 1 year of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (2)             A Level II or higher certification on the ECE scale and 1 year of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (3)             Any combination of (1) and (2) of this requirement.
7 Points	50 percent of teachers; or	50 percent of teachers at a Level I or higher; and either	(1)             6 semester hours in early childhood education or child development and 2 years of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (2)             A Level III or higher certification on the ECE scale and 2 years of full-time verifiable early childhood work experience; or (3)             Any combination of (1) and (2) of this requirement.

(c)  Semester hours in early childhood education or child development shall not include the coursework necessary for the North Carolina Early Childhood Credential.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 110-85; 110-88(7); 110-90(4); 143B-168.3;

Eff. August 1, 2012;

Readoption Eff. March 1, 2019.