Washington Homeschool Laws

Making the decision to homeschool is usually filled with ALL of the emotions. There’s overwhelm, excitement, stress, calm, and more. But, in the midst of going through all those emotions you have to take a step back, set the emotions aside and think about the laws that need to be adhered to instead. Unfortunately, some states have intense laws, and others are more lenient.

Washington homeschool laws are pretty laid back, but still have rules you have to follow.

Don’t let that last sentence scare you, though! I’m going to put these into easy-to-understand bite-sized bits for you!

What do WA Homeschool Laws Require?

There are 5 steps to following the laws legally under the homeschool statute and there are two ways to do homeschool.

The two ways to do homeschool in WA are traditional homeschooling and homeschooling through a private school:

1. Traditional homeschooling is where the parent (you) are responsible for all of the education of your child, and adhering to homeschool law.
2. Homeschooling through a WA state approved private school is an option where the school takes on the legal responsibility.

You will operate as a homeschooler extension to the private school.
You are required to comply with the rules that the private school sets – therefore the homeschool law from above doesn’t apply directly to you as a student of a private school.

Steps to comply with traditional Washington homeschool law:

Compulsory Education Age (Step 1)

In WA state, the required age to start schooling of any kind is 8 years old. You do not have to formally teach any child under the age of 8.

Teacher Qualifications (Step 2)

In order to teach your child(ren) at home, you need to have what WA state calls teacher qualifications. This does not mean you need to be a certified teacher.

There are few ways to get your teacher qualifications:

1. If you have ever attended college, and have at least 45 credits in ANY major, you are automatically qualified to teach your child at home.
2. If you didn’t go to college, you will need to take the parent qualifying course. This is offered by WHO (Washington Homeschool Organization).
3. Lastly, you can have the school superintendent in your area deem you sufficiently qualified to educate your child at home.

You can also teach your child under the supervision of a certified teacher (the parent qualifying requirements don’t apply this way). You and the teacher will come up with a curriculum and plan together, and the teacher will evaluate your child, and test accordingly.

Inform the State (Step 3)

Thankfully here in WA state informing the state is simple, just submit a declaration of intent to homeschool. The declaration of intent is a one-page form you must fill out and mail in by September 15th each year you are homeschooling a child over age 8. If your child turns 8 in the middle of the year, send the intent form on their birthday and every September 15th thereafter.

If your child is enrolled in public school, you need to formally withdraw them.

To have a record that you submitted your declaration of intent, send it certified mail with return receipt requested.

Often new homeschoolers turn to their school district for homeschooling forms, but the school district’s version may request more information than they are entitled to have. We recommend using the Washington Homeschool Organization’s form, which you can access for free on their website.

Washington State Homeschool Requirements for Teaching

Minimum Instructional Time (Step 4)

Homeschoolers in Washington State are required to teach 180 days a year (or 1000 hours), over the entire calendar year. You don’t have to teach 180 days in a row, you do not have to follow the public school schedule, and there is no one watching you telling you how to do it. Taking long breaks is okay, skipping days is okay.

Required Subjects

Washington’s homeschool law requires a total of 11 subjects be taught.

These are:

1. Writing
2. Spelling
3. Health
4. History
5. Reading
6. Science
7. Social Studies
8. Language Arts
9. Math
10. Occupational Education
11. Art/Music Appreciation

The best thing about homeschooling is the FREEDOM. These subjects need to be taught, but YOU get to decide how. You can use baking for math, for example. There is no “one way” to teach these subjects.

Assessments (Step 5)

Assessment is such scary word, isn’t it? We have to what?! But testing doesn’t need to be scary.

NWEA’s MAP Growth assessments are accepted under the WA state homeschool law.

Homeschooling in WA state isn’t hard, but it can be confusing. With the influx of new homeschoolers from 2020-2021 comes a lot of misinformation. The regular homeschoolers are trying their hardest to combat all of this information, but it’s getting out of hand fast.

PLEASE research your state’s laws if you’re not in Washington and make sure you’re meeting all of your homeschooling requirements. This is very important.

If you want to stay in touch, and get information about homeschooling on your social media feed, follow me on Instagram.

Check out my website for more homeschooling information: risingmoonmotherhood.com