Tennessee

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

Center educators must complete 12 total hours of professional development annually, including at least 6 hours in health/safety and 3 hours in pre-literacy; directors of single-site centers must complete at least 24 total hours annually. First aid and CPR training are also required (initially during the first licensure period).

Lead teacher

A child care center educator must be at least 18 years old; a high school diploma or equivalent is required when the educator serves as the only educator for a group or is counted to meet group requirements.

Director

Directors must qualify by one of several pathways, e.g., a 4-year college degree (or RN) plus one year of group-setting experience; 36 hours of coursework (at least 30 in business management or child/youth development) plus two years of full-time experience; or a high school diploma plus a TECTA certificate and four years of full-time experience.

Worth knowing

Ratios shown are from Chart 1 of rule 1240-04-01-.22; other rows: 12–30 months 1:6 (group 12); 3-year-olds 1:9 (group 18); 5-year-olds 1:16 (group 20); school-age has no maximum group size. Alternative Charts 2 and 3 allow different age groupings. Ratios/group sizes may be exceeded by up to 10% no more than 3 days per week, but never for infant/toddler groups. Verified against the Cornell LII mirror of the current rule text (official TN SOS PDF, revised November 2025, was not directly accessible).