Moderate requirements
Homeschooling in Washington
File a declaration by September 15, cover eleven subject areas, test or assess once a year, and keep the result yourself.
Getting started (notice)
a signed declaration of intent each year to the superintendent of the district you live in, or the district accepting a transfer, by September 15 or within two weeks of the start of any public school quarter, trimester or semester. It gives the child's name and age and says whether a certificated person is supervising the instruction.
Required subjects
eleven areas: occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the development of an appreciation of art and music.
Records you must keep
you keep test scores or annual academic progress assessments and immunization records yourself, along with any other records of instructional and educational activities. They are forwarded only when the child transfers to another public or private school.
Testing / evaluation
once a year, either a standardized achievement test approved by the state board of education and given by a qualified individual, or a written assessment of the child's academic progress by a certificated person currently working in the field of education. The result becomes part of the child's permanent record. It is not submitted to the district.
Parent qualifications
any one of four: be supervised by a certificated person who averages one contact hour a week with the child and supervises no more than 30 children, hold 45 college-level quarter credit hours or the semester equivalent, complete a course in home-based instruction at a postsecondary institution or vocational-technical institute, or be deemed sufficiently qualified by your local school district superintendent.
Where Letters & Devotion fits in Washington
Whatever Washington asks you to keep, keeping it should not be a job. Letters & Devotion logs instructional hours automatically while your child works, tracks mastery per skill as a ready-made portfolio record, and prints a transcript in one click, so notices, portfolios and evaluations start from records that already exist. The curriculum itself covers every core subject, K through 12.
Read all 84 courses in full before you pay anythingEvery unit, every skill, every objective. No account, no card.$29 a month after the first month. Cancel anytime, in one click.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice, and laws change. Last verified 2026-08. Always confirm current requirements with your state before relying on them. Sources:
- https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=28A.200.010
- https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.225.010
- https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/learning-alternatives/home-based-instruction
HSLDA also publishes a plain-language summary of Washington's law, at hslda.org/legal/washington, and sells a paid legal-defense membership built on top of it. It is an advocacy organization, not a legal authority: its leadership is explicitly Christian, and it lobbies on homeschool legislation, positions a family may or may not share. Read what membership actually costs and covers before joining anything.