CPS Certification and Certification Renewal Courses are run by a team of instructors. All instructor teams require at least two certified instructors the entire time*, and may include instructor candidates and technician assistants. While none of the following recommendations are required, please keep them in mind when putting together an instructor team:

  • The strongly recommended ratio of students to instructors is 5:1 for all Certification and Renewal Testing courses. When applicable, this includes instructor candidates. This includes the course checkup event.
  • No more than three instructor candidates should teach during a single Certification Course.
  • Mentoring instructors should teach as little as possible so they may devote their full attention to the candidates.
  • Lead instructors should not act as a mentors due to the number of responsibilities they have as the heads of the instructor teams.

*There are rare exceptions to the two-instructor requirement. Learn more by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.

Lead Instructor

Lead instructors (LIs) are ultimately responsible for every aspect of the course, including making sure the roster is accurate, ensuring the course profile includes all members of the teaching team, entering student grades, and calculating and entering instructor teaching hours. Lead instructors must attend the entire course.

Only certified instructors who have successfully completed the lead instructor quiz may be added as Lead Instructors. An Instructor who wishes to be an LI may take the quiz by clicking on the action item “Apply to be a Lead Instructor” in their CPS online profile. Once completed, this action item no longer appears.

Instructor Team List

Accurately listing the entire instructor team – including instructor candidates -- is required for all courses.
Instructors must be listed once for each role they serve. For example, if John Smith is serving as both an assistant instructor and a mentor instructor, he should be listed twice, once as an assistant and once as a mentor.

Before adding an instructor candidate to the instructor team list, the lead instructor or course administrator must first add the IC’s mentor. This mentor instructor is the primary point of contact for any questions or concerns about the candidate's evaluation and is responsible for daily reviews. Instructor Candidates must participate fully in the entire course.

For more information: Please refer to our Policies & Procedures Manual, and look under Course Administration.

Appealing the Two-Instructor Requirement

Safe Kids requires that two certified instructors participate in every course. This is meant to provide a richer course experience for the students. In special cases, the lead instructor (LI) may submit a written appeal to waive this requirement.

The documentation for the written appeal must include:

  • A completed appeals form, available under Resources-FAQs/Forms
  • Written confirmation from the state CPS training contacts that they approve the LI offering a course(s) without another certified instructor
  • A brief explanation on how the LI has reached out to other instructors for assistance 
  • The name of at least one technician assistant who will be helping out with the course behind the scenes (no teaching)
  • Agreement the course will be limited to no more than five students 
  • The number of courses being requested within a one-year timeframe

In addition, the appeal should include information on how the LI will help technicians serve their communities once they are certified.

The appeal must be postmarked/e-mailed at least 90 days in advance of the requested course start date. Safe Kids will investigate and respond in writing to all appeals in as timely a manner as possible. As appropriate, the National Child Passenger Safety Board and state CPS training contact will be consulted. Should this be the case, no identifying information will be provided to any member of the board or the CPS community.

All decisions by Safe Kids Worldwide are final and may not be brought up for another appeal.

Instructor Team

Safe Kids Worldwide logo
CPS-board
State Farm Logo
NHTSA