Texas Trainer Registry Qualifications

To become a Registered Trainer through TECPDS, prospective applicants must meet certain requirements. The Texas Trainer Registry categorizes trainers into 4 levels. Review the minimum education, training, and demonstration requirements for each trainer level below; see the Application Criteria below for additional information. Please note that if you do not meet a minimum requirement on a trainer level, you will fall to a level where you do meet every minimum requirement.

Special Considerations

TECPDS also considers trainers who do not have an education related to early childhood or child development but have a degree or certification in an area of relevance to the field and wish to provide training only in that area. Example: Applicants who have a certification or degree in Business Administration would only like to provide training in Core Competencies for Administrators that cover business practices, such as “Maintaining an Effective Organization.”

Beginning August 19, 2022, advancing on the trainer pathway and to higher trainer levels includes competency demonstration through the ECE Micro-Credential Program for Trainers. All trainers approved after this date will receive the trainer level 1-4 that aligns with their qualifications.

Existing trainers in the Texas Trainer Registry approved before August 19, 2022 will retain the aligned new level until it is time for renewal, after January 1, 2026. Example: Provisional Registered or Professional trainers will be considered at Level 1; Professional or Registered trainers will be regarded as Level 2, and Master Professional or Master Registered trainers will be considered at Level 3. Level 4 trainers are a new category, which can be achieved after receiving all 6 Micro-Credentials for trainers.

All early childhood professionals who wish to use the Certificate Generation Tool to create standardized training certificates for their attendees can do so through a TECPDS account, which is free.

The items described below provide more detail of what each criterion entails.

Adult Learning Theory/Core Competencies for Trainers

Applicants must have either a 3-hour college credit course in topics of Adult Learning Theory/Adult Education or 15 clock hours of training in Core Competencies for Trainers (Completed in the past 5 years). Topics may include:

• Training Delivery and Methodologies
• Transfer of Learning
• Training Content Development
• Monitoring and Evaluating Training Effectiveness
• Characteristics of Effective Trainers

If you submit TOT clock hours from other courses not suggested, please be sure they cover the following trainer core competencies

• Adult Learning Theory
• Training Delivery and Methodologies
• Transfer of Learning
• Training Content Development
• Monitoring and Evaluating Training Effectiveness
• Characteristics of Effective Trainers
• Texas Core Competencies

Please note that full-time faculty at a college or university may submit a Faculty Waiver. Please use the TECPDS Help Center for more information.

Years of Experience in the Early Childhood Education Field

Applicants must have 3 years’ experience in the field of early childhood education.

Educational Attainment and Educational Concentration

The revised system allows trainers of all educational backgrounds the opportunity to meet the registry requirements. Each level has a set of minimum educational requirements. It looks at both educational attainment, such as the highest level of education achieved, and educational concentration as described below:

• Education attainment ranging from high school diploma to advanced degrees
• 192 clock hours of training in concentration or specialization
• Professional certification in concentration or specialization (ex. CDA, CCP, CYC Entry Level, etc.)
• 12 credit hours in concentration or specialization
• Degree in concentration/specialization

For example, a trainer with an associate degree and a professional certification in concentration or specialization (ex. CDA) will be a Level 2 Trainer, but without the professional certification in concentration or specialization, they would remain at Level 1.

Training Hours Provided

An applicant’s trainer level is also dependent on the number of hours of training that they have provided.
The following describes the number of hours of training provided to reach each trainer level:

• Level 1: 0-60 hours
• Level 2: 61-300 hours
• Levels 3 & 4: 300+ hours

Micro-Credential Badges

All TECPDS registered trainers will now participate in the ECE Micro-Credential Program for Trainers. Trainers will be given access to the micro-credential courses in CLI Engage. They will use these courses to upload submissions that demonstrate their skills. These submissions will be reviewed by CLI specialists, who will award badges for skills that the trainers demonstrate. This allows early childhood specialists to be transparent about which competencies they demonstrate.

This document was last modified on: May 28, 2025