The 2025 legislative session so far: a promising start for childcare licensing reform

With the House at a standstill, how the rest of the legislative session progresses is uncertain. Despite the chaos, current proposals do offer some reason for hope in some areas.

Bills introduced both in the Senate and House (before the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision declaring no quorum), for instance, are softening requirements for licensed daycare centers, paving the way for childcare licensing reform. Senate File 91 is a good example.

SF 91

Minnesota statute generally requires that teachers are present when parents drop off and pick up kids at licensed daycare centers. If pick-up and drop-off time does not exceed a quarter of the center’s daily operations, centers could use assistant teachers as substitutes for this task.

The 2023 legislature changed this rule, temporarily allowing aides to also substitute for teachers. To do this, the aide must be 18 years old and meet certain training requirements. This change was temporary, however, and expires in July this year. As currently proposed, SF 91 would make the 2023 change permanent.

Likely impact: Teachers and assistant teachers have to meet stringent hiring qualifications in Minnesota. This has contributed to a shortage of qualified staff, affecting childcare capacity. Allowing aides to continue to substitute for teachers will offer continued flexibility for centers as they struggle to find qualified workers.

More needs to be done

Currently, someone with a high school diploma needs over 4,000 hours of experience as an aide, and college credits to become an assistant teacher at a daycare center in Minnesota. After that, they would need over 2,000 hours of experience as an assistant teacher and more college credits to become a teacher. Even someone with a bachelor’s degree needs over a thousand hours of work experience, making it difficult for centers to find qualified workers. So, while SF 91 offers a good start, more needs to be done.

Luckily, efforts have been underway.

In the 2024 legislature, for instance, lawmakers introduced a bill — SF 4496, and its House companion HF 4965 — to modify hiring requirements for daycare center workers. Instead of college credits and thousands of hours of experience for teachers and assistant teachers, the bill only requires staff to be over 16 years old and take some preservice training. This change would expand the pool of qualified workers, potentially increasing childcare capacity as centers hire more workers.

This bill failed to pass last year, but House Republicans reintroduced it in the 2025 session. While the Supreme Court’s no-quorum decision puts the bill on an uncertain path, the appetite for licensing reform is clearly strong. If legislators continue to push for it, 2025 could finally be the year for childcare licensing reform in Minnesota.