Washington homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

RCW 28A.225.010 requires children eight to under eighteen to attend public school unless an exception applies, including attending an approved private school or its extension program and receiving home-based instruction as defined in subsection (4). Chapter 28A.200 RCW sets the parent's duties for home-based instruction and leaves decisions on philosophy, books, materials, curriculum, and the methods, timing and place of instruction and evaluation to the parent except as the chapter specifies.

RCW 28A.225.010(1), (4); RCW 28A.200.020

The law as of September 29, 2026.

Washington at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Depends on the option
Home-based instruction: the parent files a signed declaration of intent every year, by September 15 or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester or semester, with the superintendent of the resident school district (or a nonresident district that accepts a transfer), giving the child's name and age and whether a certificated person will supervise, in the format prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The declaration duty in RCW 28A.200.010 applies to home-based instruction, not to a child enrolled in an approved private school's extension program.RCW 28A.200.010(1)(a); OSPI, Home-Based Instruction
Records the law asks for: Depends on the option
Home-based instruction: the annual standardized test or written assessment must be made part of the child's permanent records, and if the child transfers to a public or private school the parent must forward test scores or assessments, immunization records and any other records kept about instruction; the statute sets no retention period and does not require filing records with the district. Extension program: the approved private school must safeguard its permanent records.RCW 28A.200.010(1)(b), (c); RCW 28A.195.010(5)
Testing or evaluation: Depends on the option
Home-based instruction: each year the child must take a standardized achievement test approved by the State Board of Education, administered by a qualified individual, or receive a written annual assessment of academic progress by a certificated person currently working in education; if the result shows the child is not making reasonable progress for his or her age or stage of development, the parent must make a good faith effort to remedy the deficiency. Extension program: the certificated supervisor evaluates each student's progress.RCW 28A.200.010(1)(c); RCW 28A.195.010(4)(d); State Board of Education, Home-Based Instruction FAQs (approved tests, WAC 180-52-070)
Graduation requirements: None set by the state
Washington sets no graduation requirements for home-based instruction, and the State Board of Education may not require these students to meet the state learning standards or take the state assessments. The instruction must include a curriculum in occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and appreciation of art and music, for the annual program hours set for approved private schools.RCW 28A.225.010(4); RCW 28A.200.010(1)(c)
Diploma: Issued by: parent
OSPI's guidance states that no statute authorizes issuing a high school diploma for home-based instruction and that nothing appears to prevent a parent from issuing one; it notes that employers, colleges and the armed services set their own criteria for accepting a diploma.OSPI, Washington State's Laws Regulating Home-Based Instruction (Pink Book), Q19
Compulsory school ages: 8 to under 18: parents of a child eight years of age and under eighteen must cause the child to attend school unless an exception applies; some exceptions apply at 16 or older, such as regular lawful employment with parental agreement, having met graduation requirements, or holding a certificate of educational competence.RCW 28A.225.010(1)

The legal options for homeschooling in Washington

Home-based instruction under RCW 28A.225.010(4) and chapter 28A.200 RCWA parent instructing only his or her own child may provide home-based instruction if the parent has earned 45 college-level quarter credit hours (or the semester equivalent), has completed a course in home-based instruction at a postsecondary or vocational-technical institution, is supervised by a certificated person, or is deemed sufficiently qualified by the local superintendent; the parent files an annual declaration of intent and arranges an annual test or assessment. Basis: statuteRCW 28A.225.010(1)(b), (4); RCW 28A.200.010
Approved private school extension programA child may be enrolled in an extension program of an approved private school in which the parent teaches the child at home under the supervision of a certificated employee of the school, who plans objectives with the parent, averages at least one contact hour per week each month with the student, and evaluates the student's progress. Basis: statuteRCW 28A.195.010(4); RCW 28A.225.010(1)(a)

What Washington law means for your transcript

Home-based instruction must cover the subjects in RCW 28A.225.010(4) for the annual hours set for approved private schools (RCW 28A.195.010(1) sets a school-wide annual average of 1,000 hours for grades 1 to 12); the law does not define credits, so credit values are the parent's choice and the 120-hour Carnegie unit is a convention.
Annual test scores or certificated assessments must be kept in the child's permanent records and forwarded with other instructional records if the child transfers to a public or private school (RCW 28A.200.010(1)(b), (c)).
On transfer to a public school, the district may give a standardized achievement test and decides grade and course placement after consulting the parents and reviewing the child's records (RCW 28A.200.010(1)(b)).
Running Start college courses taken by a home-based student in grades 11 and 12 produce a college transcript that can be listed alongside the parent's transcript (RCW 28A.600.310); listing them is practice.

College admission and state aid for Washington homeschoolers

For the Washington College Bound Scholarship, an eligible student must graduate from a public or approved private high school, receive a high school equivalency certificate, or have received home-based instruction under chapter 28A.200 RCW, and must meet the program's other conditions. Students receiving home-based instruction who are eligible to be in grade 11 or 12 may apply to Running Start, and participating colleges may set admission standards.RCW 28B.118.010(3)(a)(i); RCW 28A.600.310(2), (4)

Recent changes to Washington homeschool law

No change to the home-based instruction statutes was found for 2023 to 2026: RCW 28A.200.010 was last amended in 2019 and RCW 28A.225.010 in 2017. SB 6261 (2025-26), 'Requiring signed declarations of intent of school enrollment or home-based instruction', requested by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, would have required a declaration for children below the compulsory age; as of September 28, 2026 the legislature lists it in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and it is not law.

Build a transcript for a Washington homeschool

The PDF prints this summary of Washington law with its citations, alongside the transcript and the GPA workings. $29, once.

Build my transcript

What we could not confirm

These points could not be checked against the statute or regulation text, so treat them with care:

OSPI's Pink Book guidance on diplomas is dated September 2017; it is the version linked from OSPI's current home-based instruction page.
HSLDA's description of SB 6261 (a plan filed at ages 6 and 7) was not checked against the bill text; the bill's status is from the legislature's bill summary page.
The College Bound Scholarship's other eligibility conditions in RCW 28B.118.010 (for example residency and no felony convictions) were not reviewed in full.

Sources

General information about Washington law as of September 29, 2026, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the statute before you rely on it. Found an error? Email [email protected].