School age teacher requirements are set state by state: each state's child care licensing agency decides who can work in the before- and after-school programs it licenses.
Nationally, BLS describes a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for childcare workers, and federal CCDF training rules explicitly cover staff working in school-age care.
One gap matters: where a state or employer requires a nationally recognized credential, the one required most often is the CDA — and the CDA has no civilian school-age setting.
Are after-school programs licensed?
There is no national license for before- and after-school program staff: the requirements come from each state's child care licensing rules.
Each state's child care licensing agency writes the staff qualification, training and background-check rules for the child care programs it licenses.
Whether a particular before- or after-school program — including one that operates inside a school building — needs that license depends on the state, so ask a hiring program directly how it is licensed.
BLS describes what licensure often involves for childcare staff: passing a background check, having a complete immunization record and meeting a minimum training requirement — and, in some states, CPR and first aid certification.
Ask a hiring program which of these it needs before your first shift.
One contrast is worth knowing early: a public school runs on a different staffing track.
In public schools, BLS notes, preschool teachers generally need at least a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or a related field and must be licensed in early childhood education, usually by passing an exam.
That is the education agency's certification system, not child care licensing — and which system a school-run before- or after-school program answers to is a question for your state's licensing agency.
For the wider national picture — what center child care teachers need across the states, and how the staff tiers differ — our teacher requirements guide covers it state by state.
Confirm the rules where you want to work
Staff age and education
On education, BLS puts a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for childcare workers, and notes that some states have no education requirement for entry-level positions.
Where a state does set an education floor, it is written into that state's licensing rule — the chapter your state's agency administers is the one that applies to you.
Minimum ages are set state by state too, and the minimum can depend on the role you are hired into.
Confirm the current minimum for your role with your state's child care licensing agency.
The bachelor's-plus-licensure bar described above is BLS's account of preschool teachers in public schools, not a child care licensing rule.
Center licensing rules set their own floors for assistant-level roles, and titles matter here: an after-school program can hire a mix of lead teachers, assistants and aides, and state rules can give each tier a different minimum.
What the school-age role looks like across those titles — and where it works — is covered in our school age teacher career guide.
School-age credentials
The CDA — the credential BLS says states and employers require most often when they require a nationally recognized credential at all — is awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition.
As of October 2026 it comes in five settings: center-based Infant-Toddler (birth to 36 months), center-based Preschool (ages 3 to 5), center-based Birth to Five, Family Child Care (birth to 5 in a home) and Home Visitor.
School-age work is not one of them: there is no civilian school-age CDA setting.
The Council does run a school-age credential, but only inside the military system: the Military School-Age (MSA) credential is a separate credential for military programs.
How the MSA fits a school-age career is covered in our youth development professional guide.
If a job ad for after-school staff asks for a CDA, ask the employer which setting it expects — the answer depends on the ages the program serves and on what your state's rule credits.
And note that a CDA is a maintenance commitment as well as a qualification: it must be renewed every 3 years.
Training and CPR
School-age staff are inside the federal training framework.
Under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the federal rule at 45 CFR 98.44 requires states' professional development frameworks to cover caregivers, teachers and directors — "including those working in school-age care." Before- and after-school staff are therefore addressed by the same state frameworks the rule describes, not left outside them.
What that framework does not set is an hour total.
States must set a minimum annual number of training or professional development hours for caregivers, teachers and directors, and the federal rule does not set the number — so annual hours differ by state.
Confirm the current pre-service and annual training requirements with your state's child care licensing agency.
On CPR and first aid: BLS counts certification among the requirements some states attach to childcare licensure, alongside the background check, immunization record and minimum training described above.
For after-school work, settle it before your first shift: ask the program, and confirm with the licensing agency, whether your state requires it for your role.
Framework, not hour totals
Summer program staff
Summer-only camp staff are where this page has to be honest about a gap: our national research did not confirm a staffing rule that applies to them across states.
Whether a summer day camp must hold a child care license, and what that license then requires of its staff, is decided within each state's system.
Ask a hiring camp how it is licensed, and confirm its staff requirements with your state's child care licensing agency before you accept the job.
What follows from the framework above: a summer program that operates under a child care license is subject to that state's licensing rules — minimum age, education, training, background check, and CPR where the state requires it.
Confirm which of those apply to your role with the licensing agency.
For what the job itself is like — the day-to-day work, what programs look for, and turning a summer into a year-round role — our summer camp counselor guide covers it.
Open before- and after-school positions are listed under school age teacher jobs.
This page is career information, not licensing or legal advice. Staff qualification, training, background-check and licensing rules are administered by each state's child care licensing agency, and the federal CCDF rules by ACF. Confirm the current requirements with your state agency before you apply or hire.