Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Texas child care director requirements for a center licensed for 13 or more children are set by 26 TAC 746.1015: age 21, a high school diploma or equivalent, and one of seven education and experience routes. Most routes need college credit hours in management, usually three, six or nine, plus credit hours in child development and one to three years' experience.
Under 26 TAC 746.1015, the director of a child-care center licensed for 13 or more children must be at least 21, have a high school diploma or its equivalent, and meet one of seven combinations of education and experience, most of which include six or nine college credit hours in management.
The rule asks for 3, 6 or 9 college credit hours in management depending on the route (13+ children); 50 clock hours or 5 CEUs may replace each 3 credit hours. The legal source is 26 TAC 746.1015.
| Route (13+ children) | Education | Experience |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bachelor degree with 12 credit hours child development and 6 management | 1 year |
| 2 | AAS in child development or closely related field, with 6 child development and 6 management | 2 years |
| 3 | 60 credit hours with 9 child development and 6 management | 2 years |
| 4 | Community college child-care administrator's certificate: 15 child development and 3 management | 2 years |
| 5 | 6 management hours with a CDA or CCP credential | 2 years |
| 6 | Approved day-care administrator's credential | 2 years |
| 7 | 9 child development and 9 management | 3 years |
Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Child Care Regulation decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), Child Care Regulation.
Management techniques and planning, the core of the management requirement.
Self-paced online Principles of Management course (Business 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Hiring, performance planning and evaluation of staff.
Self-paced online Human Resources Management course (Business 306). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Accounting is named among management courses.
Self-paced online Managerial Accounting course (Accounting 210). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Supervisory and leadership skills for running a center.
Self-paced online Foundations of Leadership course (Business 205). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Basics of running a business, budgeting and administration.
Self-paced online Business Essentials course (Business 100). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU, UoPeople and Newlane are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; start with their own transfer pages, then any other college you already attend.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Austin Community College (in-district) | $85 per credit hour with fees, 2026-27 | Management or child development courses; about $255 per 3-credit course in-district | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month (or $299 per 4 months) | Self-paced business courses; credit via its partner colleges | 15 Nov 2026 |
Prices checked on each provider's own page on the date shown. A community college course is on that college's own transcript. A UPI Study course needs a partner college transcript, and Licensing decides whether it counts.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask Child Care Regulation to confirm in writing that a course will count as management credit before you enrol.
Texas minimum standards for child-care centers, written by HHSC Child Care Regulation, set the director rules in 26 TAC 746.1015. A director of a center licensed for 13 or more children must be at least 21, have a high school diploma or its equivalent, and meet one of seven combinations of education and experience. Experience means full-time work, at least 30 hours a week or the part-time equivalent, as a director, assistant director or caregiver in a licensed center.
Smaller centers licensed for 12 or fewer children follow 746.1017, which asks for fewer management hours, usually three, and accepts experience in licensed or registered child-care homes as well.
Five of the seven routes name college credit hours in management. A bachelor degree, an AAS in child development, or 60 college credit hours each need six management hours. The community college child-care administrator's certificate needs three. Route 7, with no degree, needs nine management hours and nine child development hours, plus three years' experience. Route 5 pairs six management hours with a CDA or CCP credential.
For many caregivers moving up to director, the management hours are the missing piece: they have child development training from their work, but no business or supervisory courses on a transcript.
746.1029 says course titles vary too much to list, but gives examples: administration of a child-care facility, recreational leadership, accounting, goal and objective setting, performance planning and evaluation, management techniques, risk management, and other administrative, management or supervisory courses. Office machines and computer training do not count.
If Licensing asks, the center must provide original transcripts and supporting documents such as a catalog description or syllabus so Licensing can decide whether a course is management (746.1031). 746.1037 also lets 50 clock hours or five CEUs stand in for every three college credit hours of child development or management.
UPI Study offers management-type courses such as Principles of Management, Human Resources Management, Managerial Accounting, Foundations of Leadership and Business Essentials, all in PRO at $99 a month. UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. Its courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended and become college credit only via a college transcript: TESU, UoPeople and Newlane are partner colleges that consider such credit.
Licensing decides whether a course counts as management, so send the course description to Child Care Regulation and ask in writing before you enrol. UPI Study has no child development courses, so plan those hours elsewhere, for example at a community college.
For a center licensed for 13 or more children, 26 TAC 746.1015 requires age 21, a high school diploma or equivalent, and one of seven education and experience routes. Most combine credit hours in child development and management with one to three years in a licensed center.
It depends on the route. Bachelor, associate and 60-hour routes need six college credit hours in management. The community college administrator's certificate needs three. The route without a degree needs nine, with three years' experience.
Yes, within limits. 746.1037 lets 50 clock hours or five CEUs replace every three college credit hours of child development or management. The documentation must meet the training documentation rule in 746.1329.
No. 746.1029 says courses in office machines or computer training are not recognised as management. Accounting, management techniques, risk management and supervisory courses are among those that can count, so a spreadsheet class is the wrong way to fill the gap.
We cannot say; Licensing decides. UPI Study is not accredited, and its courses become college credit only via a college transcript. Send the course description to Child Care Regulation and get its answer in writing before you enrol.
A center licensed for 12 or fewer children follows 746.1017. Its routes mostly ask for three management hours instead of six, and experience in licensed or registered child-care homes also counts.
Management courses in one plan; ask Child Care Regulation in writing first.