VA · VQB5 (Virginia Quality Birth to Five)
Virginia — CDA & ECE Workforce Credentials
Virginia recognizes CDA in licensed centers and offers up to $3,000/year RecognizeB5 bonuses to teachers in VQB5 sites; public-school pre-K requires PreK-3 endorsement.
Data current as of April 2026.
CDA acceptance & requirements
- Lead teacher requirements: Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) — which absorbed early childhood licensing — accepts CDA among lead teacher qualifications in licensed centers. CDA helps teachers meet state and VQB5 professional requirements.
- Assistant teacher requirements: Minimum age 18, HS diploma/GED, plus orientation training and 16 hours/year of in-service.
- Director requirements: Education + administrative coursework + experience.
- QRIS: VQB5 (Virginia Quality Birth to Five) — Virginia's unified quality measurement and improvement system across all publicly-funded birth-to-five classrooms (centers, FCC, school-district pre-K). Workforce credentials are central; RecognizeB5 provides direct financial incentives to lead and assistant teachers in VQB5 sites (up to $3,000 per teacher per year as of 2023-2024).
- T.E.A.C.H. & apprenticeship: T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Virginia is administered through VAAEYC. VECF Fast Track addresses teacher recruitment, compensation, introductory training, and retention. ECE Registered Apprenticeships through VAAEYC and Virginia community college system.
State-specific ECE workforce credentials
- Virginia ECE Career Pathway (administered through VAAEYC and partner organizations) — recognizes CDA, AA, BA, and the state PreK-3 endorsement.
- Virginia does not issue a stand-alone state ECE workforce credential beyond the pathway recognition and state teacher licensure.
- VDOE — Early/Primary Education PreK-3 endorsement — for public-school pre-K teachers; bachelor's + state-approved EPP. CDA does not satisfy this.
- Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) — administers RecognizeB5 and the Fast Track workforce initiative.
Notable state context
Virginia consolidated child care licensing from DSS into VDOE in 2021, creating a unified birth-through-grade-12 education agency. VQB5 with RecognizeB5 is one of the most direct teacher compensation programs in the country, providing meaningful retention bonuses tied to participation in the quality system.