Education and Equivalents

Education Requirement in WAC

If you are working in a licensed or certified child care program, you will be required to meet specific education requirements for your job role (WAC 110-300-0100). The requirements vary depending on the type of child care setting. To find out what education is needed for your job role, review the General Staff Qualifications guide—you can review it online or print a copy.

Early Childhood Education Stackable Certificates

To meet your staff qualifications you may consider the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Washington State Stackable Certificates. These certificates build on each other, leading to an associate degree in ECE and beyond. They are available through community and technical colleges statewide, both in-person and online.

Review the Stackables Certificates guide to learn more.  

VISIT THE CAREER PLANNING PORTAL FOR MORE INFORMATION

Equivalents

Equivalents provide alternate pathways to comply with the education requirement in WAC 110-300-0100. Refer to the Equivalent Options for Education document and Alternative Credentials Guide for more information. 

Training: PACE - Provider Access to a Community Equivalent

PACE is a community-based training series that helps Family Home Licensees, Lead Teachers, and Assistant Teachers meet the education requirements for licensing or certification. PACE delivers content and knowledge as equivalent to those required for the Washington State Initial and Short Certificates. For additional information, see the PACE Program Overview document.

PACE Training Chart

This charts illustrates the PACE professional learning pathway diagram showing sequential training modules. For a full description, see the PDFs.

PACE Pathway

  • Child Care Basics
  • Enhancing the Quality of Early Learning (EQEL)
    • Part 1 - Responsive Caregiving and Brain Building
    • Part 2 - Engaging Interactions & Environments, and Positive Behavior Supports
  • PACE 1 - The Field of Early Care and Education (ECE)
    • Reflective Teaching
    • ECE Then & Now
    • The Early Learning Profession
  • PACE 2 - Supporting Child Development and Wellness
    • Child Development
    • Children and Families
    • Child Wellness
  • PACE 3 - Guiding Behavior
    • Approaches to Behavior Guidance
    • Guiding Children's Behavior
    • Highly Individualized Behavior Guidance
  • PACE 4 - Coming Soon
  • On the Job Learning
    • Putting into Practice
    • Work Hours

For additional information on PACE, please see the PACE - Provider Access to a Community Equivalent overview and the PACE Completion Checklist.

Experience-Based Competency

HB 1648 extends the timeline for early-learning professionals to meet staff qualifications requirements.
Early learning professionals, hired before August 1, 2025, with 5 years of cumulative or consecutive experience by August 1, 2030, may use their experience to meet staff qualifications requirements.

HB 1648 expands eligibility for using experience to meet education requirements for roles requiring an Initial, Short, or State Certificate. The following roles may now be eligible to use their experience:

  • Assistant Teachers
  • Lead Teachers
  • Family Home Owners
  • Center Directors
  • Assistant Directors
  • Program Supervisors
  • School-Age Program Directors
  • School-Age Site Directors

Determine Whether this Option is Right for You

Determine whether this pathway is the best option for you. By selecting this option, you acknowledge the following:

  • This will meet your licensing staff qualifications requirement
  • This will not be applied toward your points for education in Early Achievers
  • This does not fulfill the staff qualifications for ECEAP

To Update Your MERIT Dashboard

  1. Login to MERIT at merit.dcyf.wa.gov
  2. Click on the “Job Role Education” status bar on your MERIT dashboard
  3. Click the “Click Here” button, a popup box will appear
  4. Use the drop-down menu to select “I want to use my experience and training”
    Note: At this time, the option will only appear if you are in a job role that previously qualified and you will have the required work experience by August 1, 2026. MERIT is being updated to allow more users to select “I want to use my experience and training” to meet the HB 1648 requirements.
  5. Click “Save”
  6. Your Job Role Education status bar will now be green and display your requirement as met