Washington homeschool laws
Requirements summary
Washington requires an annual Declaration of Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction filed with the local superintendent by September 15, or within two weeks of the start of any school quarter, trimester, or semester. Parents must administer either a standardized test or a written evaluation by a certificated person each year, and keep the results in the child's records. To teach at home, a parent teaching only their own child must meet one of three routes: be supervised by a certificated teacher (planning together, with an average of about one contact hour a week), hold 45 college quarter credits or have completed a home-based instruction course, or be approved as qualified by the local school district superintendent. Compulsory attendance, and so the declaration and annual assessment, applies from age 8 up to age 18. Home-based instruction must total the same annual hours as approved private schools, an average of 1,000 instructional hours a year for grades 1 to 12 (or 180 days).
Expect a notice plus some form of evaluation, such as a portfolio review or a standardized test.
Notice and filing deadlines
September 15: Annual Declaration of Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction
Required subjects
- Occupational education
- Science
- Mathematics
- Language
- Social studies
- History
- Health
- Reading
- Writing
- Spelling
- Appreciation of art and music
Hours and days of instruction
- Grades 1-12 (annual average): 1,000 hoursSame annual hours as approved private schools (RCW 28A.225.010(4), RCW 28A.195.010(1)). The statute says this requirement is liberally construed for home-based instruction.
Testing and evaluation
Parents must administer either a standardized test or a written evaluation by a certificated person each year, and keep the results in the child's records.
Compulsory attendance, and so the declaration and annual assessment, applies from age 8 up to age 18.
Recordkeeping
Parents must administer either a standardized test or a written evaluation by a certificated person each year, and keep the results in the child's records.
Pre-filled filing draft
Yes. HomeStudyPath can pre-fill a draft of this filing from your family's records:
- Annual Declaration of Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction
Official sources
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official sources above.
Homeschooling in Washington?
HomeStudyPath puts your filing dates on your calendar and keeps the attendance, hours, and records your state asks for.
Track your state's deadlines automatically