Louisiana Pathways - Early Learning Center Career Development System

If you have earned a NEW or RENEWED ECAC since July 1, 2026 and haven't sent Pathways a copy of it yet, please do so NOW! Same goes for new or renewed CDA's. Pathways cannot give you credit for credentials if we don't know you have then. Remember to include the last 4 digits of your social on any documentation that you send to Pathways. Thanks and have a great day!

FYI - the next CDA Renewal Amnesty is coming soon.

Your Experience Doesn’t Expire...

July 6, 2026 – April 26, 2027

The Council is pleased to announce the return of the CDA® Renewal Amnesty initiative. CDA Renewal Amnesty is a limited-time opportunity for past credential holders (whose CDA expired as far back as January 1, 2016) to renew their CDA and return with confidence to their profession.

The initiative reflects the Council’s commitment to reducing barriers and building clear pathways for seasoned educators to reenter the early learning field, advance their careers and make a lasting impact on children. If you’re a former CDA, the field needs your experience and expertise.

The Pathways Website has been updated this week. You will find the Pathways Orientation PowerPoint and 5 sets of FAQ’s right up front on the homepage! Please check it out.

Louisiana Pathways - Northwestern State University of Louisiana The Louisiana Pathways Early Learning Center Career Development System is dedicated to raising the standard of child care across the state. By supporting early childhood professionals in advancing their education, training, and careers, Pathways ensures that children and families benefit from high-q...

Directors - Please use the link below to search for your center's 2025 Star Rating Info, so you can fill out tax forms correctly.

https://doe.louisiana.gov/docs/default-source/early-childhood/2025-school-readiness-tax-credit-center-star-level.xlsx?sfvrsn=3f2b3f03_9

Remember that the center must have had at least a 0-Star on July 1, 2025 for tax credit eligibility. If your center did not have at least a 0-star rating on July 1, 2025, you will not be able to claim a School Readiness Tax Credit for 2025 and will not be able to use the tax forms you may have received.

2025 Star Ratings were determined from your center's 2023-2024 CLASS scores.

doe.louisiana.gov

After the weather delay and lots of hard work (with the help of some of the NSU Child and Family Network staff), the 2025 School Readiness Tax forms for Directors and Staff have officially been delivered to the post office in Shreveport.
These include tax forms for:
1120 Administrators,
5284 Teachers and other Staff, and
74 Registered Family Child Care Providers
and should be delivered to the home address Pathways has on file for each member. Please allow up to two weeks for delivery.
Thanks!

Important Announcement:

The Pathways team is still busy processing all documentation sent by 12/31/25 for 2025 tax credit eligibility, so we will not be able to answer phone calls or emails until after tax forms are mailed out on January 31, 2026. Tax forms should be delivered to all active members on tax credit eligible levels (Teacher 1 or above, or Director 1 or above, valid CDA is the minimum requirement) within the first couple weeks of February.

Please allow time for your expected tax forms to be delivered, and do not ask about them if you do not receive them until the 3rd or 4th week of February.

Documentation sent after 12/31/25 will more than likely not be processed for 2025 tax credit eligibility until after the initial tax forms are prepared and mailed out. If you submitted your documentation late, you may not receive tax forms with the first group due to go out or you may receive tax forms for a lower level than you expect.

We will continue to process late documentation for 2025 tax credit eligibility during February and March and will mail out additional/revised tax forms on February 27th and again on March 31st before the final list of tax credit eligible members is sent to the Louisiana Department of Revenue on April 1, 2026.

Take Care,

Louisiana Pathways

Need help with the new LDOE LEC Certification Portal for ECAC applications and renewals? This video will help answer your questions! Please watch.

LEC EC Director Training

It has come to our attention that the QR code included in the LDOE Instructions for completing the 2024 SRTC tax forms is broken.

To find your site’s 2024 star rating, site code, as well as beginning and end dates, click this link to view on your computer (don't think it will work from your phone): https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoe.louisiana.gov%2Fdocs%2Fdefault-source%2Fearly-childhood%2F2024-school-readiness-tax-credit-star-level.xlsx%3Fsfvrsn%3D6b3d3b45_4&data=05%7C02%7Ccowanj%40nsula.edu%7Cad314126f2e142c95f0008dd4d3d416f%7Cbf3c82933c274b0f8b817dadc7d9dea6%7C0%7C0%7C638751648003815246%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=V5zZ4jaws0CNoRpfCSv%2BZ7SzfVqV3SVqxhnLgjYVykA%3D&reserved=0

Note: The link will prompt a download of an excel file, please notice at the bottom of the spreadsheet there are 2 tabs (one for Type IIIs and the other tab for FCCs).

You may email Pathways for more information. Email addresses for Pathways staff can be found in the Staff section of our website.

Thanks!

doe.louisiana.gov