What Are the Requirements to Be a Daycare Teacher in Massachusetts?

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) licenses child care in Massachusetts under 606 CMR 7.00, whose title covers family child care, small group and school age, and large group and school age child care programs.

A large group and school age child care program — what most people call a center — regularly receives more than ten children unrelated to their caregivers who are under 14; a small group program serves ten or fewer outside a private residence.

The same rulebook sets the qualifications described below for Assistant Teachers, Teachers and Lead Teachers.

A Lead Teacher in an infant/toddler or preschool group must be at least 21 years old and meet one of the education-and-experience sets in 606 CMR 7.00.

The sets the rulebook lists include a high school diploma plus 12 credits in at least four categories of study and 36 months of work experience, while a bachelor's degree in early childhood education plus the same 12 credits requires nine months of experience.

Which set fits you depends on the education you already hold, so read the current rule text or ask EEC before you count credits toward the qualification.

An Assistant Teacher in a Massachusetts center must be at least 16 years old or hold a high school diploma or equivalent.

The rule pairs that with a supervision condition: an Assistant Teacher works at all times under the direct supervision of at least a Teacher-qualified staff person — the middle rung on the ladder above.

That makes Assistant Teacher the entry rung on EEC's ladder — the rung below Teacher, and one a 16- or 17-year-old can hold.

Two things carry a before-employment condition in the sections we read: your qualification and your health record.

To qualify as a Teacher you complete whichever route in the ladder above fits your education, and the Lead Teacher sets add more credits and months of experience.

On health, an educator must have evidence of a physical examination within one year prior to employment and be immunized in accordance with Department of Public Health recommendations, with religious and medical exemptions allowed.

Every educator must also register with EEC, and that registration is annual.

First aid certification is not a before-hire item in the rule we read: educators obtain it within six months of employment.

Our research did not confirm a separate pre-service orientation or clock-hour course for center educators in the rulebook pages we read, so ask EEC whether anything else is due before your first shift.

Massachusetts sets yearly professional development by how many hours a week you work.

Educators working under 10 hours a week complete 5 hours of professional development a year; educators working 10 to 19 hours a week complete 12 hours; and educators working 20 or more hours a week complete 20 hours.

At least one third of those professional development hours must be on diverse learners.

The requirement is yearly, so the tier that applies follows your scheduled weekly hours.

All educators must obtain basic first aid certification within six months of employment and keep it current, with training appropriate to the population served.

On health checks, educators must have evidence of a physical examination within one year prior to employment and be immunized in accordance with Department of Public Health recommendations; religious and medical exemptions are allowed.

The certification the center rulebook names in the sections we read is basic first aid — our research did not confirm a separate CPR requirement for center educators, so ask EEC what your role requires.

Massachusetts runs background record checks on group and school age child care candidates under 606 CMR 14.00.

The check combines a CORI, a DCF check, a SORI, a search of the national sex offender registry (NSOR), a fingerprint-based check and all out-of-state checks mandated by CCDBG.

The out-of-state piece follows the federal floor: under federal CCDF rules (45 CFR 98.43), every child care staff member of a licensed, regulated or registered provider — and any subsidy-eligible provider — must have a comprehensive background check, and the interstate component covers each state where the staff member lived during the preceding five years.

The checks apply to candidates for the group and school age programs EEC licenses, so expect them as part of being hired.

Yes.

The rulebook requires all educators to register annually with the Department of Early Education and Care.

EEC has run educator registration through its Professional Qualifications Registry, and EEC's portal pages indicate that registry is being replaced by an EEC Professional Portal; our research did not confirm the status of that transition, so check EEC's site for the current registration route.