Washington Approved Private School: The RCW 28A.195 Pathway for Microschools

Parents starting a microschool in Washington quickly hit the same wall: the state defines home-based instruction as education provided by a parent instructing their own child only. The moment you want to hire a teacher, set up a drop-off arrangement, or run a structured pod where parents are not rotating in as daily instructors, you've crossed into territory that requires a different legal framework.

That framework is RCW 28A.195 — Washington's approved private school statute. Understanding what it actually requires (and what it doesn't) is essential for any family or educator planning to run a small educational program beyond the parent-rotation model.

What Is an Approved Private School in Washington?

Under RCW 28A.195.010, any private school in Washington must approve its instructional programs through its own governing body and meet the state's minimum requirements for private schools. These requirements are less onerous than most parents expect:

• Operate for at least 180 days per year, or the equivalent in instructional hours
• Maintain an attendance register recording student attendance
• Employ qualified teachers — Washington requires teachers in private schools to be "certificated or competent"
• Provide instruction in the state's required subjects — for K-8, this is a broad list; for high school, the requirements align generally with college preparation

There is no state inspection process for private school facilities. There is no tuition cap. There is no curriculum mandate beyond subject coverage. Washington does not require private schools to seek accreditation, though many choose to do so for college admissions purposes.

The process of becoming an approved private school is primarily administrative: notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), maintain required records, and meet the annual operational requirements. It is not a licensing system with approvals that can be denied.

Why This Matters for Microschools and Pods

Washington's HBI law is unambiguous: parents can educate their own children under home-based instruction, but they cannot hire someone else to educate other families' children under that same framework. WHO's official FAQ states this plainly — such an arrangement would need to be an approved private school.

For families who want a true drop-off microschool — where a hired educator runs the learning environment and parents maintain employment — the approved private school pathway under RCW 28A.195 is the legal route. It opens up operational possibilities that HBI co-ops cannot accommodate:

• A hired lead educator or "guide" who is not a parent in the group
• Drop-off instruction without requiring parents to be present or rotate
• A more formal school structure with defined enrollment, tuition, and schedules
• The ability to issue transcripts under a school name

The tradeoff is administrative overhead: 180-day operational requirement, attendance records, qualified instructor requirements, and the initial registration process.

The Washington Private School Extension Program

Rather than registering independently as an approved private school from scratch, many Washington microschool families use an existing approved private school's extension program. This involves affiliating with an established approved private school, which extends its registration umbrella to cover the family or small group.

Several Washington-based approved private schools offer this service. Under the extension program model:

• The affiliated school's approval covers the pod or microschool's operation
• Families pay an annual fee to the umbrella school — typically $50–$300 per year depending on the school and services included
• The umbrella school may provide curriculum resources, assessment services, and transcript issuance
• The pod or microschool operates under the school's policies and naming conventions

The extension program approach is popular because it bypasses the need to independently establish all the administrative infrastructure of an approved private school. The parent or pod leader doesn't need to navigate OSPI notification independently — the umbrella school handles that relationship.

The Family Academy of Washington

The Family Academy of Washington is one of the more commonly referenced extension program options in Washington's homeschool community. It operates as an approved private school that allows families to enroll under its umbrella while directing their own educational program.

Like other extension programs, it provides a legal framework for families who want to operate outside the HBI model — whether because they don't meet the parent qualification requirements for HBI, because they want to hire an external instructor, or because they want transcript and record-keeping support from an established institution.

Extension programs are not a loophole — they are a legitimate and commonly used tool within Washington's private education framework. Families using them are operating under a registered private school's authority, not attempting to avoid regulation.

Who Should Use the RCW 28A.195 Pathway vs. HBI Co-op

The private school pathway makes sense when:

• You want to hire a non-parent instructor as the primary day-to-day teacher
• Families want a drop-off arrangement rather than required daily participation
• The pod or group is large enough to benefit from formal administrative structure
• You want to issue transcripts under a school name for college admissions purposes
• Any participating family does not meet Washington's HBI parent qualification requirements

The HBI co-op model makes sense when:

• All families meet the parent qualification requirements
• Parents can commit to active participation and rotation of teaching duties
• The group is small (3-6 families) and values informal, flexible structure
• Minimizing administrative overhead is a priority
• Drop-off is not required — parents can and will remain present

The key operational question: Do parents need to drop off their children with a hired instructor? If yes, you need the private school pathway.

What You Still Need Under Either Pathway

Whether you operate as an HBI co-op or under the RCW 28A.195 private school pathway, you need governance documents that the statute does not provide: participation agreements, financial arrangements, tutor contracts, liability waivers for home-hosted sessions, and exit procedures.

Washington State law outlines the regulatory framework. It does not provide the operational tools to run a functional group arrangement. That gap — between legal compliance and operational reality — is where most microschools and pods run into problems.

The Washington Micro-School & Pod Kit covers both pathways: the HBI co-operative model and the RCW 28A.195 private school approach. It includes the legal decision tree, Declaration of Intent templates for HBI families, guidance on the private school registration process, the 11-subject tracking matrix, and all governance documents — participation agreements, tutor contracts, and hosting liability waivers — built specifically for Washington's legal framework.

Washington's private school law is not an obstacle to microschooling. It is the framework that makes professionally-run, drop-off microschools legally possible. Understanding which pathway fits your group and then building the right operational structure around it is the work that separates a microschool that functions sustainably from one that falls apart under the first legal question.

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