Texas

Staff-child ratios

Requirements

Annual training

Caregivers must complete 24 clock hours of annual training relevant to the ages served (§746.1309); directors must complete 30 clock hours annually (§746.1311). Annual hours are exclusive of CPR/first aid, and at least one caregiver or employee with current first aid (with rescue breathing and choking) and CPR certification must be present.

Lead teacher

Each caregiver must be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma, high school equivalent, or a high school certificate of coursework completion (§746.1107), plus background checks; 16-17 year olds with a diploma/equivalent may be counted in ratio only with restrictions.

Director

The director of a center licensed for 13+ children must be at least 21, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and meet one of seven education/experience combinations (§746.1015), e.g., a bachelor's degree with 12 credit hours in child development and 6 in management plus 1 year of licensed-center experience, or a CDA/CCP credential with 6 management credit hours plus 2 years of experience.

Worth knowing

Full classroom ratio/group-size chart (centers licensed for 13+, §§746.1601/746.1609, standards PDF revised December 2025): 0–11 mo 1:4/10; 12–17 mo 1:5/13; 18–23 mo 1:9/18; 2 yr 1:11/22; 3 yr 1:15/30; 4 yr 1:18/35; 5 yr 1:22/35; 6–8 yr and 9–13 yr 1:26/35. Group size is a hard cap regardless of extra staff.