WASHINGTON
Homeschooling in Washington: Requirements, Paperwork, and How to Start
A declaration of intent by September 15, one of four ways to qualify as the instructing parent, eleven subject areas to cover, and an annual assessment you keep rather than submit.
Homeschooling in Washington, Summarized
The Six Things Washington Asks of You
Legal in Washington
Yes
as home-based instruction
Compulsory ages
8 to 17
Do I notify anyone?
Yes — every year, by September 15
Paperwork load
Medium
records kept privately
Parent qualification
One of four tracks — none is holding a certificate
Standardized testing
An annual assessment — two options
not submitted
Legal requirements last reviewed: June 2026 · Plain English · Not legal advice
Home-based instruction is legal in Washington
What You Need to Know
Washington calls this home-based instruction rather than homeschooling, and treats it as a codified right. File a signed declaration with your district superintendent each September, satisfy one of four qualification tracks, teach across eleven subject areas, and complete an annual assessment you keep privately.
What Washington Asks of You
A declaration each September, and eleven subjects to cover.
Must do
File a signed declaration of intent with your district superintendent each year
Satisfy one of the four qualification tracks before you begin instructing
Provide planned and supervised instruction across all eleven mandated subject areas
Complete an annual assessment — a standardised test, or a written one by a certificated person
Keep the result privately, and make a good-faith effort to remedy any deficiency it shows
Dates that matter
September 15 each school year, or within two weeks of starting
Once each school year for the assessment — no calendar deadline is set
Good practice — not required
Check which of the four qualification tracks you meet before September, not after
Keep the eleven subject areas visible in your planning: all of them are mandated
The assessment goes to nobody — it is a private record. Skipping it is not neutral, though: failing the assessment duty makes the child truant under the compulsory-attendance statute.
Washington mandates eleven subjects and an annual assessment. StudyPug builds the record of both while your child works.
Funding for Washington Home Education
The short answer, before the detail.
Washington provides no direct funding to home-based instruction families.
Nothing flows to independent home-based instruction families. A district's alternative learning experience program is a separate part-time arrangement, and the statute expressly bars it from paying allotments or dedicated funds to a family.
To your family
$0 direct to independent families
Part-time enrollment
Alternative learning programs, district by district
To apply for
Nothing — the declaration is not an application
What StudyPug Handles for You
Not templates you fill in — records that fill themselves in.
Work-samples portfolio that assembles itself
Hours & attendance log that fills itself in
Progress reports you can download and share
Scope & Sequence export across all eleven subject areas
One-click package pairing your records with the annual assessment
Every child in one account — up to 5
Questions About Homeschooling in Washington
Quick answers for homeschooling families.
Is homeschooling legal in Washington?
Yes, and the state calls it home-based instruction. It is a right codified in statute rather than an exemption, which is a meaningful difference in how the arrangement is framed.
Do parents need a teaching certificate?
No — holding one is not among the options. You must meet one of four tracks: 45 college quarter-credit hours, a state-approved home-based instruction course, supervision by a certificated person for at least an hour a week, or your superintendent deeming you sufficiently qualified. The declaration states only whether track three applies.
Does Washington fund home-based instruction?
No, not directly. Nothing flows to independent home-based instruction families. Enrolling your child part-time in a district's alternative learning experience program is a separate arrangement that does bring public resources, with its own enrollment deadlines.
Which subjects must I teach?
Eleven mandated subject areas, all of them requiring planned and supervised instruction. It is a broader list than most states set out, and worth keeping visible in your planning rather than checking at the end of the year.
What annual assessment is required?
One of two options, once each school year. Either a standardised achievement test, or a written academic assessment by a certificated person. No calendar deadline is set beyond doing it annually.
Do I submit the assessment?
No. The scores or the written assessment are kept as private records. Nothing academic goes to the district — the declaration of intent is the only thing you file.
When could my records be inspected?
Only if truancy proceedings arise. Outside that, the instruction records you keep are private and no authority reviews them. It is a reactive standard rather than routine oversight.
Official Sources
Confirm the rules and apply directly with your state.
RCW 28A.200.010
→The obligations on a parent providing home-based instruction.
app.leg.wa.gov — RCW 28A.200.010
RCW 28A.150.350
→Part-time enrollment in public-school programs.
app.leg.wa.gov — RCW 28A.150.350
Home-Based Instruction
→The state office's page on qualifying, testing and declaring.
ospi.k12.wa.us — Home-Based
Other States:
Homeschooling in West Virginia·Homeschooling in Wisconsin·Homeschooling in Wyoming— each reviewed against its own official sources
See How Families Run Their Homeschool on StudyPug
Lessons, practice, and the records above — one family plan.
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StudyPug is a records tool, not legal advice. Homeschool rules, funding amounts, and deadlines change at least yearly — always confirm with the official sources above before you act. Requirements can also differ at the school-board or district level, so check with your local board or district too. We review every jurisdiction page and show you the date we last checked it; each requirement in your dashboard carries its own source and last-verified date.
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