South Dakota — CDA & ECE Workforce Credentials

CDA acceptance & requirements

• Lead teacher requirements: South Dakota DSS child care licensing accepts CDA among lead teacher and director qualifications. Specifically, CDA meets the qualifications for child care director or program planner under SD child care licensing rules.
• Assistant teacher requirements: Minimum age 18, HS diploma/GED, plus orientation training and ongoing PD.
• Director requirements: Either a two-year degree in ECE, a CDA credential or comparable credential, or certification in a specific child learning philosophy, plus at least one year of experience in a child care setting.
• QRIS: South Dakota's QRIS infrastructure has been small/voluntary; current participation is limited and the state focuses on workforce development through the SDCDA Project.
• T.E.A.C.H. & apprenticeship: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® South Dakota is administered through the South Dakota Early Childhood Enrichment (ECE) System. The South Dakota CDA (SDCDA) Project provides comprehensive 120-hour training and mentorship to candidates and is one of the most heavily subsidized state CDA training pipelines in the country.

State-specific ECE workforce credentials

• South Dakota Pathways to Professional Development — Issuing agency: South Dakota DSS. Statewide career recognition project tracking training, education, and credentials. CDA recognized at a defined Pathways level.
• South Dakota does not issue a separate state ECE teacher credential; CDA is the recognized non-degree credential.
• SD Department of Education — Birth-PreK or Early Childhood Education endorsement — for public-school pre-K teachers; bachelor's + state-approved EPP. CDA does not satisfy this.

Notable state context

South Dakota has no state-funded universal pre-K and operates a small ECE workforce. The SDCDA Project at the South Dakota ECE System is one of the few state-coordinated CDA training programs that provides full curriculum, mentorship, and assessment fee support.