Pathway lookup
Early Childhood Education in Michigan
These pages summarize rules to help you plan. They are not legal advice. Before you place students at a work site or change a program, check with your state agency, your district's counsel and your insurance carrier.
In short
Michigan has no confirmed early childhood CIP; students can prepare for the CDA and count in ratio at 16, and a school lab preschool appears to need a MiLEAP license.
State program: Only 13.0000 Education, General found; no early childhood CIP confirmed ()
What a high school can deliver
CDA preparation for juniors and seniors in an early childhood CTE program, and paid work as a counted center teacher at 16.
Credentials students can earn
CDA (juniors and seniors in an early childhood CTE program; TEACH covers most costs, terms: Confirm with the agency); no state credential list found
Age and hour requirements
Center teachers may be 16 and count in ratio; lead teacher 19; supervised volunteers 16+ not counted (R 400.8101-8840). Home rules (Apr 27, 2026): staff 16+, assistants 14-15 always supervised.
Other agencies involved
MiLEAP Child Care Licensing Bureau: center license; MCL 722.111 has no public school exclusion, so a lab preschool appears to need one.
Who can teach it
Annual Career Authorization (4,000 hours in 10 years) requested by the district; the early childhood endorsement code is not published.
Child labor rules for work placements
Paid work: LEO Youth Employment Permit Portal permit since Oct 2, 2026; 24 hours a school week at 16-17; a school-employer agreement on file exempts the placement from the state act. Paid staff 16+ need a comprehensive background check before unsupervised contact (R 400.8201).
College credit after high school
No statewide agreement found; Kent Career Tech Center lists local college credit ().
Where to go next
- The full Early Childhood Education guide, showing Michigan
- The Michigan state profile
- Add this pathway to your plan
Early Childhood Education in other states
Other pathways in Michigan
- Nurse Aide / Patient Care
- EMT
- Electrical
- Welding
- Construction and Carpentry
- HVAC/R
- Cybersecurity / Networking
- Programming / Computer Science
- Automotive
- Medical and Dental Assisting
- Cosmetology
- Agriculture
- Culinary and Hospitality
- Machining and Mechatronics
- Engineering and Drafting
- Firefighting
- Law, Public Safety and Corrections
- Business Management and Marketing
- Entrepreneurship
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