Pick the age band, enter how many kids and teachers are in the room. Tool returns pass/fail against the NC Division of Child Development & Early Education (DCDEE) licensed minimum, with the rule citation.
Single-page PDF — every age band, ratios, group-size caps, citation. Print, laminate, hang next to the sign-in sheet.
Accreditation programs (NAEYC, ACSI, Montessori AMI/AMS) layer their own ratios on top of the state license. Pick the one that applies to your program.
| Age | Teacher : children | Max group size |
|---|---|---|
| Infants — birth to 15 months | 1:4 | 8 |
| Toddlers — 12 to 28 months | 1:4 | 8 |
| Toddlers/Twos — 21 to 36 months | 1:6 | 12 |
| 2.5–3 years | 1:7 | 14 |
| Preschool — 3 to 5 years | 1:10 | 20 |
| Kindergarten | 1:12 | 24 |
NAEYC uses numeric ratios + group sizes (above).
ACSI uses qualitative supervision criteria — no fixed numeric ratio.
Montessori (AMI / AMS) uses mixed-age environment composition — no fixed numeric ratio.
The state license is the legal floor; whichever accreditation applies to your program is the operational standard.