Homeschooling in Washington.

Regulation level

Medium-Low (annual declaration + annual assessment · results not submitted · liberal-construction rule favors families)

Statute citation

RCW 28A.225.010(4) (parent qualifying routes) + RCW 28A.200.010 (declaration + annual assessment) + RCW 28A.195.010 (approved private school extension route). Last amendment to operative subsection: 2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 s 630 (per codified text's own amendment history). Retrieved from app.leg.wa.gov 2026-08-22.

Who you notify (if any)

Local district superintendent

How and when

Annual declaration of intent by SEPTEMBER 15 · OR within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester or semester (PARAPHRASED summary per RCW 28A.200.010(1)(a) · L-2b remediation Kaitlin PR #136 audit 2026-08-22 · original CT-2 build labeled this summary as 'verbatim' but the actual statute reads: 'File annually a signed declaration of intent that he or she is planning to cause his or her child to receive home-based instruction. The statement shall include the name and age of the child, shall specify whether a certificated person will be supervising the instruction, and shall be written in a format prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction. Each parent shall file the statement by September 15th of the school year or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester, or semester with the superintendent of the public school district within which the parent resides or the district that accepts the transfer, and the student shall be deemed a transfer student of the nonresident district.'). NOTE: as of 2026-08-22, September 15 is 24 days away.

Notification method

Written declaration of intent

Assessment options

(1) Standardized achievement test administered by a qualified individual, OR (2) written assessment by a certificated person currently working in the field of education (verbatim RCW 28A.200.010(1)(c))

Required subjects

['Occupational education', 'Science', 'Mathematics', 'Language', 'Social studies', 'History', 'Health', 'Reading', 'Writing', 'Spelling', 'Development of an appreciation of art and music']

Instruction hours

1,000 hours (per cross-reference to approved-private-school standard). Audit WA-7: pre-rebuild 'Personalized Pathway' language described the PUBLIC-school graduation framework, not a home-based requirement.

Records required

Assessment results in the child's permanent records (kept by parent)

Parent qualification

One of three routes (see qualifying_routes_note)