Washington Homeschool Law

Page Contents

  • 1 – Brief Summary of WA Homeschool Law
  • 2 – More Information on WA Homeschool Law
  • 3 – “Declaration of Intent to Homeschool” Form (Printable approved version)
  • 4 – Parent Qualifying Course Resources
  • 5 – Testing Resources
  • 6 – Meet CHN! Your Washington Homeschool Legislative Liaison organization

1 – Brief Summary of Washington State Homeschool Law

  • A. – All children from eight to eighteen must be enrolled in the public school system unless they are home-based, or enrolled in a private school.
  • B. – In order to homeschool, one of the parents must either 1) have 45 hours of college credits, or 2) attend a parent qualifying course, or 3) work with a certified teacher, or 4) be deemed qualified by the local school superintendent. A parent may also homeschool under an approved private school extension program.
      Please see Parent Qualifying Course information below.
  • C. A parent must annually file a declaration of intent to homeschool with the local school superintendent. Filing must be done by September 15th or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester or semester. The form must be in the format prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction and has to include the name and age of child and specify if a certified person will be supervising.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: Please see below for printable “Declaration of Intent Form.” We highly recommend you use this form or the one provided by HLSDA.

  • D. The parent must have the child tested or assessed each year. The test must be a standardized test approved by the state board of education. (NOTE: This test is kept in your own files and not turned into the school district.)
      Please see “Testing Information & Sources” below for ways to fulfil this element of the law.
  • E. Home-based instruction “... consists of planned and supervised instructional and related educational activities, including a curriculum and instruction in the basic skills of occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of an appreciation of art and music, provided for a number of hours equivalent to the total annual program hours per grade level established for approved private schools under RCW 28A.195.010 and 28A.195.040. RCW 28A225.010 …” (from Christian Homeschool Network – www.CHNow.org)
      Please see below for links to curriculum resources.

2 – For more WA Homeschool Law Information, Click on the following:

3 – Homeschool Parent Qualifying Courses

(Described above under Law Summary-Point B.)

  • First, carefully read the WA State Homeschool Law summary above to see if you need to look into qualifying courses. Note that if one parent has 45 college work credit hours (in any field or school), these courses are not necessary.
  • We encourage you to thoroughly research the options and choose a course that best fits your needs. Each has its own perspectives and content. Some are geared for the Christian homeschooler, others are not.
  • Please Note: ~ The following courseswere found online and are listed alphabetically. You may be able, through asking local support groups and community colleges, to find others. Christian Heritage does not endorse any particular parent qualifying courses.
    Barb Shelton’s Homeschool Oasis
    Great Expectations
    Family Academy

4 – Declaration of Intent to Homeschool Form

(Described above under Law Summary-Point C.)

CLICK HERE for recommended DECLARATION of INTENT FORM which contains only the information you are required by law to give to school district authorities.

PLEASE NOTE:
You may mail or hand deliver this form to the public school superintendent’s office. We strongly recommend that you MAIL IT for several reasons:

  • Mailing your DOI Form, using CERTIFIED MAIL, gives you a tangible record of it having been delivered. Keep the mail certificate on file with a copy of each year’s DOI.
  • Mailing the form avoids being “required” to use the DOI Form provided by the school district. Many districts are asking for much information beyond that which is required by law. See the printable form about to see all that the law requires you to turn in to the local school district.
  • Mailing the form also assures that it will go, as prescribed by law, to the District Superintendent’s office. Many school districts are requiring hand delivered DOI Forms to be taken to other offices such as the district Alternative Education or Parent Partnership Program centers. Independent homeschoolers are not part of these programs and should not turn forms in to them.

5 – Testing Information and Helps

(Described above under Law Summary-Point D.)

Please note that, by law, these tests are for your information only. They are to be kept in your files, but not turned in to any school authority.

The following two websites (likely, there are others also) provide information on and sources for standardized tests and other educational diagnostic tools:

6 – CHN: Our Washington Legislative Christian Homeschool Liaison Organization

CHN, (Christian Homeschool Network,) is a statewide grass-roots organization dedicated to protecting the God given right of parents to homeschool their children in Washington State without government interference.

CHN is legislative liaison to Christian Heritage Home Educators of Washington and state liaison to Home School Legal Defense Association.

They provide information to the legislature, government agencies and homeschool families, on: current homeschool laws; any proposed legislation before the state legislature and Congress that could impact our homeschools; current controversial issues and how they effect homeschool regulations and freedoms.

Return to: About Us • Home page


Resources for You

Annual Events