Preschool Teacher, Public School
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 |