Washington is one of the more structured states for families who teach at home, but the rules are far more manageable than the statute numbers suggest. If you are planning homeschooling in Washington, you need to clear four things: a parent qualification, an annual filing, a subject list, and a yearly assessment you keep yourself. This guide walks each one in order, with the paperwork sequence and a first-year timeline.
Quick Answer
To homeschool legally in Washington, a parent must meet one of four qualification routes under RCW 28A.225.010(4), file an annual Declaration of Intent with the superintendent of their resident school district by September 15 (or within two weeks of the start of any public school quarter for a mid-year start), teach the 11 required subjects, and arrange an annual standardized test or a written assessment by a certificated person. Those assessment results stay in your own records — they are not submitted to the district.
TL;DR
- Four qualification routes exist, and only one applies to you — college credits, an approved parent course, certificated-teacher supervision, or superintendent approval. Compare the four qualification routes
- The Declaration of Intent is annual, not one-and-done — file by September 15 with your district of residence. Walk the filing sequence step by step
- Washington names the subjects but not the curriculum — 11 areas must be covered, and you choose how. See the 11 required subjects
- Annual assessment is required; reporting it is not — scores live in your permanent file. Understand the testing and assessment options
- Part-time public school, sports and Running Start are open to home-based students — Washington is unusually flexible here. Review part-time enrollment and Running Start
In This Article
- What Does Washington Law Actually Require?
- How Do You Qualify to Teach Your Own Child?
- When and Where Do You File the Declaration of Intent?
- Which 11 Subjects Must You Teach?
- What Testing or Assessment Is Required Each Year?
- What Records Should You Keep — and for How Long?
- What About Part-Time Enrollment, Sports and Running Start?
- How Washington Compares to Neighboring States
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Your First-Year Washington Timeline
What Does Washington Law Actually Require?
Washington's rules for teaching your own child sit mainly in chapter RCW 28A.200, with the parent qualification test and the subject list in RCW 28A.225.010(4). Together they create four duties: qualify, declare, teach the listed subjects, and assess annually.
Home-based instruction is instruction planned, supervised and delivered by a parent for their own child, outside a public or private school, that meets the subject and assessment duties set out in state law. The parent is the responsible educator — not a school, not a vendor, and not a tutor you hire.
Two names come up constantly in Washington home education circles:
- OSPI — the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state education agency that publishes home-based instruction guidance and approves parent qualifying courses.
- WHO — the Washington Homeschool Organization, a long-running statewide group that maintains lists of qualifying courses, test administrators and local support groups.
Neither one grants you permission. Washington homeschool laws do not create an approval process. You notify; the district records it.
A useful mental model: the state sets the outer boundary of what must be covered and documented, and everything inside that boundary is yours. There is no mandated curriculum, no required daily schedule, no lesson plan submission, and no home visit requirement in the statute.
If you are weighing Washington against another state because of a possible move, our overview of homeschooling requirements by state shows how the regulation tiers differ.
Key takeaway: Washington state homeschool requirements are notification-based, not permission-based — you qualify, file, teach the listed subjects, and keep your own assessment records.
How Do You Qualify to Teach Your Own Child?
You must meet one of four routes. Most Washington parents use the first or second.
| Route | What it takes | Cost / effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 college quarter credit hours | Post-secondary credits from an accredited institution (any subject) | None if already earned | Parents with some college already completed |
| Parent qualifying course | Complete a course approved by OSPI, often offered through community colleges or statewide homeschool groups | A short course, typically one term or a weekend format | Parents without college credits |
| Certificated-teacher supervision | Be supervised by a Washington-certificated teacher, averaging about one contact hour per week | Ongoing arrangement; cost varies by teacher | Families already working with a tutor or evaluator |
| Superintendent determination | Your local superintendent deems you sufficiently qualified to provide home-based instruction | Varies entirely by district | Families who meet none of the above |
A few practical notes on each.
The 45-credit route is the simplest if it applies. Credits do not need to be in education, and they do not need to be recent. Quarter credits are the measure, so semester credits convert at a different rate — check with the institution that issued them.
The parent qualifying course exists precisely so a degree is never required. Courses appear through community colleges and statewide homeschool organizations, and formats change year to year, so confirm current offerings before enrolling.
Supervision by a certificated teacher means a working relationship, not a signature. The statute frames it as an average of one contact hour per week across the school year.
⚠️ The superintendent route is discretionary. Districts interpret "sufficiently qualified" differently, and some rarely use it. Treat it as a fallback, not a plan, and get any determination in writing.
Only one route is needed, and you do not re-qualify each year — but you do re-file each year. If your family relocates, confirm the new rules first using our state-by-state homeschool requirements resource, because qualification tests like Washington's are uncommon elsewhere.
When and Where Do You File the Declaration of Intent?
File annually by September 15, or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter if you start mid-year. The filing goes to the superintendent of your district of residence, or to the district where your child is enrolled for part-time or ancillary services.
The Declaration of Intent (DOI) is a one-page notification. Districts do not approve or deny it.
Here is the sequence:
- Confirm your district. Residence determines the default filing district, even if a different district is physically closer.
- Download that district's DOI form. Most Washington districts post a PDF on their enrollment or student services page. Forms differ cosmetically between districts.
- Fill in the required details. Typically the child's name and age, the parent's name, and the qualification route you meet.
- Sign and submit. Mail, email or in-person delivery are all commonly accepted — check what your district states.
- Keep a dated copy. Save your own copy plus any confirmation email or receipt. This is your proof of filing.
A mid-year withdrawal follows the same path on a compressed clock. Withdraw your child from the enrolled school first, then file the DOI within two weeks of the start of the current quarter.
Two details catch new filers out. First, the DOI covers the school year, so a family homeschooling for several years files several times. Second, if you later enroll the child part-time at a public school, that district may also want a declaration on file.
If this is your first time filing any such form, our explainer on how a notice of intent works in other states shows the common patterns and what these forms do and do not commit you to.
Which 11 Subjects Must You Teach?
Washington names eleven areas of study for home-based instruction:
- Occupational education
- Science
- Mathematics
- Language
- Social studies
- History
- Health
- Reading
- Writing
- Spelling
- Appreciation of art and music
Occupational education is instruction that builds practical, work-related capability — think budgeting, cooking, basic repair, gardening, coding, or any skill tied to real tasks and trades. It is one of the easiest requirements to meet accidentally and the easiest to forget to document.
The statute names subjects. It does not name textbooks, publishers, methods or daily timetables. That distinction is the single most important thing about how to homeschool in Washington state: coverage is required, uniformity is not.
Hours work the same way. Washington expects an annual average of instructional hours comparable to the public school program — commonly cited as around 1,000 hours for grades 1–12 and roughly 450 for kindergarten. It is an annual average, not a daily quota, and figures tied to the state program standard should be confirmed against current OSPI guidance before you build a schedule around them.
A single themed week can touch most of the list. A unit on a local river, for example, covers science (water systems), math (flow and measurement), social studies and history (settlement and treaties), reading and writing (research and a written report), art (field sketching), health (water safety), and occupational education (a visit with someone who works on the river).
Different approaches handle coverage differently — a structured curriculum does it by design, while an interest-led approach does it by mapping backwards. Our guide can help you choose a homeschooling style that covers all 11 subjects without turning your week into eleven separate lessons.
What Testing or Assessment Is Required Each Year?
Each year you must do one of two things: have your child take an approved standardized achievement test administered by a qualified person, or obtain a written assessment of the child's academic progress from a Washington-certificated person who has evaluated that progress.
| Standardized test | Written assessment | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An approved achievement test such as the Iowa Assessments, Stanford 10 or CAT | A written evaluation of progress by a certificated person |
| Who administers | A qualified test administrator; group testing sessions are often arranged through homeschool organizations | A Washington-certificated teacher or evaluator |
| Typical turnaround | Scored report returned after the testing window | Written report after the evaluation meeting |
| Best for | Families who want a national comparison point | Families whose approach doesn't translate well to bubble sheets |
Both options satisfy the law equally. Fees vary by administrator and by test, so collect current quotes locally rather than assuming a figure.
⚠️ Results are not submitted to your school district. They go into your own permanent file. The statute does not set a minimum score that triggers district intervention for home-based students.
Statewide groups such as the Washington Homeschool Organization typically maintain lists of test administrators and certificated evaluators, which saves a lot of searching in spring.
Key takeaway: Washington requires that the assessment happens every year — not that anyone else sees it.
What Records Should You Keep — and for How Long?
Washington puts the recordkeeping duty on the parent. The law requires you to keep immunization records, standardized test scores or written assessments, and records of academic progress, and to forward those records to any school the child later enrolls in.
Build the file with these:
- Declaration of Intent copies — one per school year, with submission confirmation
- Hours or attendance log — enough to show an annual average, not a minute-by-minute diary
- Subject coverage notes — a simple record showing all 11 areas were addressed
- Work samples — a few representative pieces per subject, per term
- Reading lists — titles and dates, which double as evidence for language and reading
- Assessment results — the test report or the written evaluation, filed by year
- Immunization records — or the relevant exemption documentation
Because the hours standard is an annual average, a light weekly log beats a precise daily one. If spreadsheet fatigue is already setting in, our guide on how to track homeschool hours without a spreadsheet headache covers simpler methods.
Keep records for the duration of home education and beyond. They matter later: a parent-issued transcript supports Running Start placement, community college dual enrollment, and eventual college or employer requests. Washington does not issue diplomas to home-based students, so your documentation is the record.
What About Part-Time Enrollment, Sports and Running Start?
Washington is unusually open to blended arrangements. Under RCW 28A.150.350, home-based students may take part-time classes and ancillary services at their local public school, and districts receive partial funding for those students.
Three doors are commonly used:
- Part-time classes — a lab science, a band period, a math course, or access to services such as speech or counseling, depending on district capacity.
- Interscholastic sports — WIAA rules permit home-based students to participate through their resident school, subject to that school's eligibility paperwork and deadlines.
- Running Start — eligible 11th and 12th graders take college courses at participating Washington community and technical colleges, earning high school and college credit at the same time.
One administrative wrinkle: the district providing ancillary services may not be the district where you filed your Declaration of Intent. Expect the service district to want its own paperwork, and ask early — part-time slots are often allocated well before the term starts.
Coordinating a part-time schedule is where most of the real effort lands. You end up tracking what the school is covering so the home side fills gaps instead of duplicating work. A home education companion like LearnSpark builds the at-home plan around what has already been taught and logs the progress notes as you go, which keeps the planning out of your evenings and keeps your attention on the teaching itself. Our overview of part-time homeschooling alongside public school classes covers how families split the week.
How Washington Compares to Neighboring States
Washington sits in the moderate-regulation tier: more paperwork than Idaho, less than Pennsylvania.
| State | Notice required | Parent qualification | Subjects named | Annual assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Annual, by Sept 15 | Yes — one of four routes | 11 named areas | Test or certificated written assessment, kept at home |
| Oregon | One-time notice to the ESD | Not specified in the same way | Not itemized the same way | Testing at certain grade levels, kept by parent |
| Idaho | None required | None specified | General subject expectation | None required |
| California | Annual private school affidavit (common route) | Teacher "capable of teaching" | Branches of study in English | No state-mandated annual test for the affidavit route |
| Pennsylvania | Annual affidavit | Yes | Itemized by grade level | Portfolio plus evaluator review, submitted |
Rules in every state change, so verify current requirements with the state agency before relying on any summary — including this one. The deeper breakdown in our homeschooling requirements by state guide explains the tiers in more detail.
Key takeaway: The real difference between washington homeschool laws and lighter-regulation states is not difficulty — it is that Washington asks you to qualify once and document consistently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to file a Declaration of Intent every year in Washington?
Yes. The Declaration of Intent is an annual filing, due by September 15 each school year you provide home-based instruction. Families starting mid-year file within two weeks of the beginning of the current public school quarter. Keep a dated copy of every year's filing in your records.
Does Washington require a college degree to homeschool?
No. A degree is not required. The 45 college quarter credit hours route is only one of four options — the OSPI-approved parent qualifying course, supervision by a Washington-certificated teacher, and a superintendent determination all require no degree at all.
Do I send my child's test scores to the school district?
No. Standardized test results and written assessments stay in your own permanent records. You forward them only if your child later enrolls in a public or private school, which is when the receiving school needs the academic history.
Can homeschoolers in Washington play public school sports?
Yes. WIAA rules permit home-based students to participate in interscholastic sports through their resident school. The school still applies its own eligibility process, including registration deadlines, physicals and any required paperwork, so contact the athletic director early.
How many hours a year does Washington expect?
Washington expects an annual average of instructional hours comparable to the public school program — figures commonly cited are around 1,000 hours for grades 1–12 and roughly 450 for kindergarten. It is an annual average across the year, not a daily requirement, and current figures should be confirmed with OSPI.
Your First-Year Washington Timeline
Here is the whole year in order, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
- Summer — withdraw from the current school if enrolled, and confirm which qualification route you meet. If you need the parent qualifying course, book it now; seats fill before autumn.
- By September 15 — file the Declaration of Intent with your resident district. Save the dated copy.
- September — sketch how the 11 subjects will be covered across the year and start a light hours log. Decide whether you will test or use a certificated assessment in spring.
- Through the year — collect work samples termly, keep the reading list current, and arrange any part-time classes, sports registration or Running Start enrollment on the district's schedule.
- Spring — complete the annual standardized test or written assessment.
- End of year — file the result in your permanent records alongside immunization records and progress notes.
That is the full compliance picture. Washington asks for a qualification, one annual form, eleven subject areas, one assessment, and a file you maintain yourself — and leaves the actual shape of your homeschooling to you.
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