Louisiana

Staff-child ratios (centers)

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.

Compliance

Background checks

Owners, staff, volunteers, contractors and others with child care purposes need an LDOE CCCBC-based determination of eligibility comprising fingerprint-based Louisiana and federal (FBI) criminal history searches, the DCFS State Central Registry (abuse/neglect), Louisiana sex offender and child predator registry, the national sex offender registry, and name-based criminal, sex-offender and abuse-registry checks from every state of residence in the past 5 years, per 45 CFR 98.43 and R.S. 17:407.42 (Bulletin 137 ch. 18, §1803). Provisional employment is allowed only after satisfactory fingerprint results and under a designated monitor.

Mandated reporting

All staff and owners are mandated reporters under Louisiana Children's Code article 603 and must report any allegation or suspicion of abuse or neglect to the statewide hotline (855-452-5437), and every staff member must complete the DCFS online Mandated Reporter Training within 7 days of starting (Bulletin 137 §§103, 1509, 1719).

First aid & CPR

All staff on the premises and accessible to children must hold current department-approved certification in infant and child CPR, adult CPR, and pediatric first aid, obtained within 90 days of hire and before assuming sole responsibility for children, with copies on site (§1723). Current first-responder certification satisfies CPR and pediatric first aid.

Health & safety training

Within 7 days of starting — and before sole responsibility for children — each staff member completes center-specific orientation (abuse reporting numbers, emergency plans, allergies, ratios, release and transportation policies) plus LDE Key Training Module 1, which covers the CCDBG health-and-safety topics from supervision and safe sleep to medication, allergic-reaction response, infectious disease, hazardous materials and transportation (§1719). Staff left alone with children or with authority over them then complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education per anniversary year (others 3 hours).

Operations

Supervision rule

Children must be supervised at all times — in the center, playground, field trips and water activities — never left alone in any room, outdoors or vehicle even momentarily, with each staff person physically present with an assigned group whose names, whereabouts and count they must know (§1713). During rest time obstructed views require circulating sight checks, water activities require staff able to see all parts of the pool including the bottom, and only children 5+ may go to the restroom unaccompanied.

Record-keeping

Each child needs a cumulative file (signed information form, emergency medical authorization, written release authorizations, special needs/diets) retained at least 2 years after enrollment ends, and daily attendance records are kept on site 2 years (§§1515, 1507). Centers also maintain staff records and personnel files, records of the previous 12 months available at every inspection, training certificates, and CCCBC eligibility documentation (§§1715, 1721, ch. 18).

Inspections

Initial licensure requires an LDOE licensing inspection plus fire marshal, health and (if applicable) academic approvals; after licensure, inspections occur at intervals not exceeding one year and without notice to the center, annual renewal inspections are required, and the department posts inspection results online (§§315, 703, 713). Non-critical violations found on site may be remedied immediately as corrective action, and critical incidents carry notification duties (§1103).

Worth knowing: Content is from the current LAC Title 28, Part CLXI (Bulletin 137) master text (amendments through January 2026). Family child care providers register with LDOE under separate provisions not covered here.

Family & home child care

Family Child Care Provider and In-Home Provider Registration Law (registration administered by LDOE); BESE Bulletin 139 (Louisiana Child Care and Development Fund Programs) for CCAP certification; Bulletin 137 licenses early learning centers

Family Child Care Provider (registration)

Care in the provider's own home for up to 6 children. Under the CCAP provider agreement, no more than a total of 6 children may be kept at the care location, including the provider's own children under age 13 (or ages 13-17 with special needs), regardless of relationship.

Provider training

CCAP-certified family child care providers must complete pre-service orientation, pediatric first aid and infant/child/adult CPR, medication administration training, and 12 clock hours of LDOE-approved job-related training annually (verified at midpoint and renewal), covering required health and safety topics.

Worth knowing

Louisiana registers rather than licenses home-based family child care (up to 6 children); LDOE describes registration as encouraged, and it is required in practice to be certified and paid through CCAP. There is no large-home category: any facility caring for 7 or more children on a regular basis (at least 12.5 hours a week) must be licensed as an early learning center (Type I, II or III) under Bulletin 137. An 'in-home provider' cares for a family's children in the child's own home.