Preschool Teacher, Public School

Preschool teachers instruct children (normally up to five years of age) in activities designed to promote social, physical and intellectual growth needed for primary school in preschools, day care centers or other child development facilities. This report looks at requirements for teachers working in public preschools only.

Forty-nine states and D.C. require licenses of preschool teachers working in public schools; Utah is the only state that does not. On average, these laws require $492 in fees, over five and a half years (2,050 days) of education and experience, and around two exams—the second most burdensome requirements of the 102 occupations studied. Because almost every state licenses the occupation, it ranks as the most widely and onerously licensed.

License requirements vary, as do the ways in which states license the occupation. Missouri and Oregon require a bachelor’s degree for their preliminary teaching licenses and four years of teaching experience for their continuously renewable professional teaching licenses (2,920 days total). Ohio, on the other hand, has no preliminary license and requires only an associate’s degree (730 days) for its continuously renewable one. (See Appendix B under “Public School Teacher” for details on how the occupation was observed.) Similarly, exam requirements range from none in Montana to five in Tennessee. Fees are over $1,000 in Connecticut and Washington but under $200 in Missouri, Montana and South Dakota.

Burden Rank	State	States Licensed	Fees	Estimated Calendar Days Lost	Education	Experience	Exams	Minimum Grade	Minimum Age
1	Oregon	50	$665.00	2,920	4 years	4 years	2	0	18
2	Missouri	50	$191.05	2,920	4 years	4 years	3	0	0
3	Connecticut	50	$1,095.00	2,673	4 years	40 months	2	0	0
4	Tennessee	50	$775.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	5	0	18
5	New York	50	$914.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	4	0	0
6	South Carolina	50	$600.25	2,555	4 years	3 years	3	0	18
7	New Mexico	50	$809.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	18
8	Pennsylvania	50	$528.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	18
9	Michigan	50	$445.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	18
10	Idaho	50	$349.75	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	18
11	Louisiana	50	$516.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	3	0	0
12	Maryland	50	$436.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	3	0	0
13	Georgia	50	$351.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	3	0	0
14	Hawaii	50	$584.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
15	Rhode Island	50	$566.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
16	New Hampshire	50	$556.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
17	Wisconsin	50	$520.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
18	North Carolina	50	$260.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	1	0	18
19	New Jersey	50	$535.45	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	12	18
20	Vermont	50	$666.50	2,555	4 years	3 years	1	0	0
21	Massachusetts	50	$405.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
22	Delaware	50	$296.00	2,555	4 years	3 years	2	0	0
23	Washington	50	$1,003.75	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	0	0
24	West Virginia	50	$267.25	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	0	18
25	Alaska	50	$730.00	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	0	0
26	Indiana	50	$478.00	2,190	4 years and 2 years	-	3	0	0
27	Iowa	50	$512.00	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	0	0
28	Arizona	50	$437.00	2,190	4 years	2 years	2	0	0
29	Kansas	50	$462.00	1,825	4 years	1 years	2	0	0
30	California	50	$398.00	1,825	4 years and 1 years	-	2	0	0
31	Kentucky	50	$358.00	1,825	4 years and 1 years	-	2	0	0
32	Colorado	50	$279.50	1,825	4 years and 1 years	-	1	0	0
33	Virginia	50	$630.00	1,460	4 years	-	4	0	18
34	Florida	50	$555.00	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	18
35	Alabama	50	$593.65	1,460	4 years	-	4	0	0
36	Illinois	50	$660.00	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	0
37	Texas	50	$374.75	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	18
38	Nevada	50	$577.00	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	0
39	D C	50	$484.00	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	0
40	Mississippi	50	$442.00	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	0
41	Minnesota	50	$343.20	1,460	4 years	-	3	0	0
42	Arkansas	50	$420.75	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	0
43	Maine	50	$396.00	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	0
44	Nebraska	50	$351.00	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	0
45	Oklahoma	50	$334.00	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	0
46	Wyoming	50	$320.00	1,460	4 years	-	1	0	0
47	South Dakota	50	$51.00	1,460	4 years	-	2	0	0
48	Montana	50	$63.25	1,460	4 years	-	0	0	0
49	North Dakota	50	$685.50	1,276	2 years	18 months	3	0	0
50	Ohio	50	$305.00	730	2 years	-	1	0	0