Daycares in Georgia

Georgia scores licensed daycares through Quality Rated, the state's quality rating program. Quality Rated scores providers across three star levels (1, 2, or 3 stars) using five portfolio standards (child health and nutrition, family engagement, intentional teaching practices, teacher-student ratios, and director/teacher qualifications) combined with the Environment Rating Scales.

Georgia's minimum legal requirements for adult-to-child ratios fall below the standards published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the leading professional accreditation body for early-childhood programs and the most widely cited benchmark for high-quality care, across the youngest age bands. The state caps infant ratios at 1:6 (NAEYC: 1:4) and toddler ratios at 1:8 (NAEYC: 1:6). For preschoolers, Georgia sets a separate ratio for each age: 1:15 at age 3, 1:18 at age 4, and 1:20 at age 5 (NAEYC: 1:10 across this age band). Group sizes follow a similar pattern: infant groups are capped at 12 (NAEYC: 8) and toddler groups at 16 (NAEYC: 12), with preschool caps of 30 at age 3, 36 at age 4, and 40 at age 5 (NAEYC: 20). The state does not set a single rule on lead-teacher credentials. For pre-service training, Georgia requires direct-care staff to complete a 10-Hour Health & Safety Orientation within their first 90 days of hire, and centers must complete a Child Care Learning Center Licensing Orientation within the 24 months before licensing (Rule 591-1-1). Required ongoing professional development is 10 hours per year, below the 25 hours we recommend.

These minimum legal requirements apply to every licensed daycare in Georgia, regardless of its Quality Rated score. They are one of the Structural inputs in every Childery rating shown above. The rating distribution above combines that Structural input with Quality Rated scores and other Process inputs to produce the Overall scores. For the full breakdown, see the Georgia methodology page.