Homeschooling in Washington— Declaration of Intent by Sept 15, four ways to qualify to teach.
Washington asks parents to file an annual Declaration of Intent by September 15 and to qualify to teach through one of four routes. Instruction must equal 180 days a year or average 1,000 hours — whichever the parent chooses. Each year ends with a standardized test or a non-test assessment by a Washington-certificated person, and the result is kept on file, not sent to the district. Lightstead's Washington profile stages the Declaration, logs your days or hours, and files the assessment in your records packet.
What Washington requires, at a glance.
- Notice
Sept 15 · annually
Annual Declaration of Intent to the local superintendent by September 15, or within 2 weeks of the start of any public-school quarter, trimester, or semester for mid-year starts.
- Days / hours
180 days OR 1,000 hours
Instruction must equal 180 days per year OR average 1,000 hours per year — the parent chooses which standard to meet.
- Teacher qualification
4 routes
45 quarter-hours college credit · parent-qualifying course · work with a certificated teacher · superintendent deems the parent sufficient.
- Assessment
Test OR evaluation
Annual standardized test from the SBE-approved list OR a non-test assessment by a Washington-certificated person.
- Assessment results
Retained, not submitted
Test scores or the assessment are kept by the parent on file — Washington does not require them to be submitted to the district.
- Subjects
11 required areas
RCW 28A.230.020 (referenced by RCW 28A.200.010) requires occupational education, science, math, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and art and music appreciation; the parent chooses materials, scope, and sequence.
- Records
Kept on file
Test scores, immunization records, and all instructional records are retained by the family, not filed with the state.
§1
File your Declaration of Intent by September 15.
Washington requires an annual Declaration of Intent to provide home-based instruction, filed with the superintendent of the local school district by September 15. A family beginning home-based instruction after the school year starts files within two weeks of the beginning of any public-school quarter, trimester, or semester — so a mid-year start has its own filing window rather than waiting for the next September. The Declaration is filed every year the child is homeschooled. It is the single state-facing action in Washington: there is no portfolio submission and no review meeting attached to it.
RCW 28A.200.010
The Washington Declaration-of-Intent wizard pre-fills your children's data and outputs a PDF ready for the local superintendent. The September 15 deadline shows on your dashboard as a deadline card, and mid-year starts get the two-week filing window instead.
Declaration of Intent wizard
§2
Four routes to qualify to teach.
A parent providing home-based instruction in Washington qualifies through one of four routes under RCW 28A.200.010: (1) work with a certificated person — meeting at least one contact hour per week, with the certificated supervisor planning objectives and evaluating progress; (2) earn 45 college quarter-hours of credit; (3) complete a parent-qualifying course in home-based instruction; or (4) be deemed sufficiently qualified by the local school district superintendent. Most families satisfy the requirement through the 45 quarter-hours route or the parent-qualifying course. Route (1) — working with a certificated supervisor — is the structured option: the certificated person sets the objectives and evaluates progress, and the parent logs the weekly contact hour.
RCW 28A.200.010
Lightstead's subjects list and attendance log hold the proof behind whichever route you pick — including the weekly contact hour when you work with a certificated supervisor. Your qualifying route and the subjects you teach live in one place rather than scattered across the year.
Subjects & attendance
§3
180 days or 1,000 hours — you choose.
Washington instruction must equal 180 days per year, or average 1,000 hours per year — and the parent chooses which standard to meet. The two are alternatives: a family that runs a shorter, denser year can meet the 1,000-hour average without hitting 180 distinct days, and a family that prefers a conventional calendar can count days instead. Neither figure is filed with the state. The day or hour count is part of the instructional records the family keeps on file, alongside test scores and immunization records.
RCW 28A.200.010
The attendance and hours log tracks both standards at once — running days completed against 180 and hours against the 1,000-hour average — so you can see which one you are on track to meet. The daily lesson log feeds the count as you teach.
Attendance & hours log
§4
Test or evaluation — kept on file, not submitted.
Each year a Washington home-based student takes either a standardized test or a non-test assessment. The test option is a standardized test from the State Board of Education's approved list, with the parent choosing from that list. The non-test option is an assessment of the student's progress by a person certificated by the state of Washington. Either way, the result is retained by the parent on file — Washington does not require test scores or the assessment to be submitted to the district. The assessment, test scores, immunization records, and all instructional records are the on-file artifacts the family keeps.
RCW 28A.200.010
The records packet files whichever route you take — the standardized test score or the certificated person's assessment — alongside immunization and instructional records, all kept on file rather than sent anywhere. Because Washington retains rather than submits, the packet is your private archive ready if a question ever comes up.
Records packet
What people search for when they look up Washington homeschooling.
When is the Washington Declaration of Intent due?
Annually by September 15, filed with the superintendent of your local school district. A family that begins home-based instruction after the school year starts files within two weeks of the beginning of any public-school quarter, trimester, or semester instead of waiting for the next September.
What are the teacher qualification options in WA?
Four routes under RCW 28A.200.010: (1) work with a Washington-certificated person, meeting at least one contact hour per week with that supervisor planning objectives and evaluating progress; (2) earn 45 college quarter-hours of credit; (3) complete a parent-qualifying course in home-based instruction; or (4) be deemed sufficiently qualified by your local school district superintendent.
Does Washington require homeschool testing?
Each year the student takes either a standardized test from the State Board of Education's approved list or a non-test assessment by a person certificated by the state of Washington. The parent chooses which. The result is retained by the family on file — Washington does not require it to be submitted to the district.
How many days or hours does Washington require?
Instruction must equal 180 days per year or average 1,000 hours per year, and the parent chooses which standard to meet. The two are alternatives — a denser year can meet the 1,000-hour average without 180 distinct days, and a conventional calendar can count days instead.
Do I have to submit my child's test scores in Washington?
No. Test scores and the annual assessment are retained by the parent on file, not submitted to the district. Test scores, immunization records, and all instructional records are kept by the family as the on-file proof.
Can I start homeschooling mid-year in Washington?
Yes. Instead of waiting for the next September 15, a family beginning home-based instruction after the school year starts files the Declaration of Intent within two weeks of the beginning of any public-school quarter, trimester, or semester.
What does working with a certificated teacher require in Washington?
Under the first qualification route, the parent works with a Washington-certificated person and meets at least one contact hour per week. The certificated supervisor plans the instructional objectives and evaluates the student's progress, while the parent provides the day-to-day instruction.
Who can do the non-test assessment in Washington?
A person certificated by the state of Washington. The non-test assessment is the alternative to the standardized test — it evaluates the student's annual progress, and like the test result it is retained by the parent on file rather than submitted to the district.
What records do I have to keep for Washington homeschooling?
Test scores or the annual assessment, immunization records, and all instructional records are kept on file. None are submitted to the state — they are the family's retained proof that the year's home-based instruction met Washington's requirements.
What is the 45 quarter-hours teacher qualification in Washington?
One of the four ways to qualify to teach: the parent has earned 45 college quarter-hours of credit. It is an alternative to working with a certificated person, completing a parent-qualifying course, or being deemed sufficiently qualified by the local superintendent.
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