In Washington, running a home school and running an extension of a private school out of a home are both acceptable homeschool options. A traditional home school requires the parent to be supervised by a certified teacher, to have 45 college credit hours, to have completed a course in home education or to be considered qualified by the local superintendent. Under the private school option, a parent must be under the tutelage of a certified teacher who works in the private school.
When a home school is an extension program of a private school, no forms or paperwork are required. For the traditional homeschool option, a notice of intent must be filed with the local superintendent by September 15 or within two weeks of any public school quarter. The name and age of the child who is affected must be included, and the paperwork must indicate that a certified person will be providing the instruction. The form used for this notification is determined by the local superintendent. Attendance should average 180 days a school year or 1,000 hours during Grade 1 through 12 years.
There are no kindergarten homeschool requirements in Washington, since compulsory school attendance does not begin until age 8.
For traditional home schools, the student must annually take a standardized test that is approved by the state board. This test must be administered by a qualified individual. In place of this test, the child can be evaluated by a certified teacher. The results of either form of testing do not need to be annually submitted to anyone. The parent instead must keep all results as part of the child's permanent academic record. The private school option requires that the student be assessed by a certified person.