Professional Licensure – Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children

Vermont’s early childhood educators came to consensus with the recommendations for Professional Licensure put forth in the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession.

In Vermont’s current structure, licensing is about the setting, not the profession.
In the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession, this system is reoriented and realigned to reduce complexity and confusion, focusing trust and investment in the education and compensation of early childhood educators themselves, who make the biggest difference in driving families’ access to quality early learning and care for their children.
Of the Vermont early childhood educators who provided feedback about Professional Licensure:

89% are interested in becoming professionally licensed as an early childhood educator

96% believe professional licensure will be a pathway to better compensation, better benefits, and greater respect for the profession

91% feel included in the commitment that anyone in the current workforce who wishes to be a part of the profession will have the resources, supports, and pathways to do so

In addition, educators showed interest in a range of supports and resources to function as a bridge to the new profession for the current workforce. And, educators offered key questions and comments that the Task Force considered and addressed in the drafting of this Consensus Document.

See the Consensus Document for details, including context and process.