WA

How to Start Homeschooling in Washington (2026)

Washington requires a parent to file an annual declaration of intent to provide home-based instruction and to ensure that an approved standardized achievement test is administered annually or that an annual assessment of academic progress is written by a certificated person (RCW 28A.200.010).

Legal framework

Washington law (RCW 28A.200.010 and 28A.225.010) requires a parent whose child receives home-based instruction to (1) file annually a signed declaration of intent, which includes the name and age of the child and specifies whether a certificated person will supervise the instruction, by September 15 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 in which the parent resides; and (2) ensure that a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education is administered annually to the child by a qualified individual, or that an annual assessment of the student's academic progress is written by a certificated person who is currently working in the field of education. The test or assessment is made part of the child's permanent records.