There are four ways to qualify to homeschool in WA:
1. 45 college quarter credits
2. Take a Parent Qualifying Course
3. Hire a WA state certificated teacher to provide oversight
4. Gain superintendent approval.
Some Notes on each:
45 college quarter credits
(This is equivalent to 30 semester credits, or 1 year, full time college. It does not have to be a US college. The credits do not have to be in education. They can be in welding, or history, or cosmetology, or astronomy, or culinary or math or anything else. They just need to be from a college).
Take a Parent Qualifying Course
There are a few of these around the state. Check back for that list.
Hire a WA state certificated teacher to provide oversight
If you have a teacher friend or relative, this works great, and can often be free. They meet with you for an hour each week to provide oversight and evaluation. Your local homeschool group will be the best place to find this person if it’s a path you want to pursue.
Gain superintendent approval.
This has been done at least thrice in the history of homeschooling in WA state. I’ve been working on a webinar on how to do this successfully. It works best for someone who has homeschooled elsewhere and is coming new into WA without college credits.
Notes:
You do NOT have to prove how you qualify to homeschool, but the law requires that you do qualify in one of these four ways.
The check box on the Declaration of Intent is ONLY checked if you take the second option and hire a teacher, not if you take the Parent Qualifying Course. (You’d be surprised how many people are confused by this).
The Parent Qualifying Course certificate is good to infinity and beyond (but only in WA). It’s a one time class, and you’re done forever.
~Jen