Homeschooling in Washington: the law and how to start

Yes. Washington law calls homeschooling home-based instruction and lists it as an exception to compulsory public school attendance in RCW 28A.225.010(4). The parent's duties — the annual declaration, testing and records — are in chapter 28A.200 RCW. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) publishes guidance, but your local school district receives your paperwork.

Other routes include:

• Enrolling in an approved private school, including one that offers an extension program for families teaching at home. The private school, not home-based instruction law, then governs your child's education.
• Public alternative learning experience (ALE) programs, including online and parent-partnership programs run by school districts. These are public school programs with their own rules, not home-based instruction.

• Check that you qualify to teach (see Teacher qualifications below). The supervised option and the superintendent-approval option need to be in place before you start.
• File a declaration of intent with the superintendent of the school district where you live. Many districts post their own form, but any signed written declaration with the required details works. The deadline is September 15 each year, or within two weeks of the start of any public school quarter, trimester or semester if you begin mid-year.
• Withdraw from school. If your child is enrolled, tell the school in writing that you are withdrawing to provide home-based instruction, and keep a copy of your declaration.
• Refile every year you continue.

The declaration and testing requirements apply to children aged 8 and older, matching the compulsory attendance age.

Home-based instruction must consist of planned and supervised educational activities, including a curriculum and instruction in the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of an appreciation of art and music.

The law ties the amount of instruction to the annual program hours set for approved private schools. Most district guidance puts this at an average of 1,000 hours a year for grades 1–12.

Teacher qualifications. The parent teaching must meet one of these options:

• be supervised by a Washington-certificated teacher, who meets with the child an average of one contact hour per week and evaluates progress;
• have earned 45 college-level quarter credit hours or the equivalent;
• have completed a course in home-based instruction at a postsecondary institution or vocational-technical institute; or
• be deemed sufficiently qualified by the superintendent of your local school district.

Each year, a child receiving home-based instruction must either take a standardized achievement test approved by the State Board of Education (given by a qualified individual) or receive an annual assessment by a certificated person currently working in education.

You don't send the results to the district. Keep them, along with any immunization records, as part of your child's permanent records. If your child later enrolls in public school, the school can ask for them.

It also helps to keep a simple record of your curriculum, attendance or hours, and samples of work each year.

Home-based instruction students don't receive a public school diploma. You decide when your teen has finished high school and can issue your own diploma and transcript; keep a running list of courses, credits and grades.

Washington's Running Start program lets eligible high school juniors and seniors take college courses at community and technical colleges. Homeschooled students typically take part by enrolling part time with their school district. Ask your district and the college about the steps.

Washington law requires school districts to allow part-time enrollment of students in home-based instruction and to provide ancillary services — such as counseling, testing, speech and hearing therapy, remedial instruction and health services — as long as the student would otherwise be eligible for full-time enrollment. District policies set the details, and some offer classes on a space-available basis.

For sports and other interscholastic activities, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) treats home-based students as eligible at the public school in the district where they filed their declaration, provided they meet WIAA and district eligibility standards. Contact the school's athletic director for the paperwork.

If you think your child has a disability, ask your district about an evaluation and the special education services it can provide to home-based students.

Washington has statewide homeschool organizations, such as the Washington Homeschool Organization, as well as many regional groups, co-ops and parent-partnership programs. Public libraries and museums run programs that suit homeschoolers.

Washington has no education savings account, voucher or tax credit program for homeschoolers.