Georgia — CDA & ECE Workforce Credentials

CDA acceptance & requirements

• Lead teacher requirements: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) child care licensing accepts CDA, the Georgia Technical Certificate of Credit (TCC) in ECE/ECCE, AA, and BA. CDA and TCC are treated as equivalent by DECAL.
• Assistant teacher requirements: Minimum age 18, HS diploma/GED, plus required orientation and ongoing PD.
• Director requirements: Higher credential level + administrative coursework + experience.
• State-funded pre-K (Bright from the Start Pre-K, GA Pre-K): Georgia Pre-K Lead Teacher Certification required — bachelor's + Georgia teacher cert with Early Childhood (P-5) endorsement. CDA does not satisfy this.
• QRIS: Quality Rated — Georgia's QRIS administered by DECAL. Workforce credentials are core scoring criteria; star ratings expect AA/BA mix at higher tiers.
• T.E.A.C.H. & apprenticeship: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Georgia is administered through Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS). DECAL Scholars offers CDA application fee scholarships and other ECE workforce funding.

State-specific ECE workforce credentials

• Georgia TCC (Technical Certificate of Credit) in Early Childhood Care and Education — Issuing agency: Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). Stackable certificates leading to AA degrees. Treated as CDA-equivalent.
• Georgia Pre-K Lead Teacher Certification required for Bright from the Start state pre-K; bachelor's + state teacher cert with EC endorsement.
• Georgia DECAL Director's Credential for licensed-center directors.

Notable state context

Georgia operates one of the country's most mature universal-access state pre-K programs (Bright from the Start, since 1995, lottery-funded). The bifurcation between Bright from the Start (BA + cert) and licensed child care (CDA/TCC) is sharp. Georgia is also one of three states with a state-controlled CDA-equivalent (TCC) recognized as parallel to the national CDA.