Louisiana

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

12 clock hours of approved continuing education per anniversary year for staff who are left alone with children or have supervisory authority (3 hours for other staff), plus orientation within 7/30 days of hire; all staff accessible to children must hold current infant/child CPR, adult CPR, and pediatric first aid certification, obtained within 90 days of hire (LAC 28:CLXI Sections 1719-1723).

Lead teacher

Louisiana requires no formal credential for teachers/caregivers in licensed centers: staff 18+ may be counted in ratios and work unsupervised (16-17 year-olds only under direct adult supervision), subject to background checks, orientation, and continuing education (Section 1707).

Director

Directors must be at least 21 and hold one of: an early childhood ancillary certificate plus 1 year of experience; a national administrator credential plus 1 year of experience and 6 credit hours/90 clock hours of approved training; 3 years of center experience plus 6 credit hours/90 clock hours; or school-leader credentials (Section 1709).

Worth knowing

Full table (Section 1711, as amended through Jan. 2026): 2-year-olds 10:1 (group 20); 4-year-olds 15:1 (30); 5-year-olds 19:1 (38). Maximum group sizes are a recent addition (LR 52:27, Jan. 2026). Mixed-age averaging is allowed for ages 2-5; under-2 groups use the youngest child's ratio.