Email of the Day:
I have two children. One will be in first grade next year, age 6 and one will be in 5th grade, age 10. We will be moving to Washington this summer. I have a couple of questions. I noticed in the laws there was 8 age limit of some kind. Does this mean that I am NOT allowed to homeschool my 6 year old?Answer:
Heavens! That would be horrifying, wouldn’t it?The answer is no; you don’t have to send you 6yo to school. Even if your children were going to go to public school, they would not be required to attend until they were 8.
Compulsory attendance in WA is from ages 8-18. Children under the age of 8 are not required to attend school, including homeschool. Therefore, none of the HBI (home-based instruction, the legal name for homeschooling) laws apply to children under the age of 8.
Those children remain educationally free.
Beginning on your child’s 8th birthday, you must either enroll in a school, or homeschool. To homeschool, you must qualify, declare intent, begin to cover the 11 subjects, test or assess annually, and keep certain records.
~ Jen GS
Empowering Homeschool Parents