Washington Homeschool Declaration of Intent: How to File and What to Expect

Most parents who are new to home-based instruction in Washington spend hours reading about curriculum choices before realizing there is a legal paperwork step that has to happen first. The Declaration of Intent (DOI) is that step — and missing the deadline or sending it to the wrong office can create unnecessary friction with your school district.

Here is exactly how it works, when to file, and what to do if your child is currently enrolled in a public school.

What Is the Declaration of Intent?

The Declaration of Intent is the official notice you send to your local school district superintendent to inform them that your child will receive home-based instruction (HBI) rather than attending a public school. It is grounded in RCW 28A.225.010 and RCW 28A.200, which together define the compulsory attendance law and the HBI exemption from it.

Filing the DOI is what converts your child's legal status from "truant" to "lawfully home-educated." Without it, your child's absence from public school could trigger the Becca Bill truancy process — an outcome every family wants to avoid.

The form itself is straightforward. OSPI provides a sample in Appendix A1 of the Pink Book (Washington State's Laws Regulating Home-Based Instruction). Many districts also have their own version, but the legal content is the same: your name, your child's name, grade level, and your confirmation that you meet the qualifying criteria to provide HBI.

When to File

For new homeschoolers: File before instruction begins, or at the latest within two weeks of starting. Do not wait until September.

For returning homeschoolers: The DOI must be renewed annually. Washington law requires you to file by September 15th, or within two weeks of the start of the public school year in your district, whichever is earlier.

The September 15th deadline applies regardless of whether your child ever attended a public school. Even families who have homeschooled since birth are required to file an annual renewal once the child reaches compulsory attendance age.

Age threshold: Compulsory attendance in Washington begins on a child's eighth birthday. You do not need to file a DOI for a six-year-old. The moment your child turns eight, the clock starts.

How to File

1. Identify your district superintendent's office. The DOI goes to the superintendent of the school district where you reside — not the nearest school building, not the state OSPI office. Find your district's contact information through the OSPI district lookup tool.

2. Complete the form. Include your child's full name, date of birth, grade level, and your contact information. You will also need to indicate which qualifying credential you hold (see the parent qualifications section below).

3. Submit by mail or in person. Many districts accept email, but certified mail or in-person delivery gives you a timestamped record. Keep a copy for your own files.

4. Repeat every year. The DOI does not carry over. A new form is required each school year.

The school district cannot deny your DOI or impose additional conditions. OSPI's position is that the DOI is a notice, not a request for permission.

How to Withdraw Your Child from Public School

If your child is currently enrolled in a public school, you need to do two things: formally withdraw from the school, and file the DOI with the superintendent's office.

Step 1: Notify the school. Contact your child's current school in writing and state that you are withdrawing your child to begin home-based instruction. You do not need the school's approval. A simple written notice is sufficient. The school will mark the withdrawal date in their records, which stops the attendance clock on their end.

Step 2: File the DOI. Submit the Declaration of Intent to the district superintendent's office at the same time or immediately after withdrawing. Do not leave a gap between the withdrawal date and the DOI filing — even a few days without the DOI on file could put your child in a legally ambiguous attendance status.

Mid-year withdrawals: You can withdraw and begin homeschooling at any point in the school year, not just in September. File the DOI within two weeks of your intended start date.

Some families experience pushback from school administrators who suggest the parent needs to prove qualifications or submit a curriculum plan before the child can be withdrawn. This is incorrect. Under RCW 28A.225.010, the DOI is your legal authority to begin HBI. Curriculum plans and qualification documentation are things you maintain in your own records — they are not submitted to the district.

Home-Based Instruction vs. Alternative Learning Experiences

One source of confusion for families exploring their options is the difference between home-based instruction (HBI) and Alternative Learning Experiences (ALE), which includes Parent Partnership Programs (PPPs) run through public school districts.

They are legally distinct:

• HBI is entirely parent-directed and privately funded. You file a DOI, you choose the curriculum, and you are the school administrator. The state has no ongoing visibility into your child's education beyond the annual assessment requirement.
• ALE/PPP is a form of public education. Your child is enrolled in a public school program that allows for some home-based learning under a district-contracted learning plan. The district retains legal oversight, assigns a certificated teacher, and funds the instruction.

Many families who think they are "homeschooling" are actually enrolled in an ALE. If you are receiving state-issued materials, working with a district-assigned teacher, or receiving any per-pupil funding, you are in an ALE — and the DOI process described in this post does not apply to you.

If you withdraw from an ALE to pursue true HBI, you follow the same withdrawal and DOI process described above.

What Happens After You File

The district may send a confirmation, or they may not — practices vary. Some districts are highly organized about HBI filings; others treat it as routine paperwork and file it without acknowledgment.

What you should do after filing:

• Keep a copy of your DOI with a timestamped proof of delivery.
• Begin setting up your record-keeping system for the year. Washington requires instruction across eleven mandated subjects and an annual academic assessment for each child.
• Mark September 15th on your calendar as the annual renewal deadline.

The DOI alone does not satisfy all of Washington's HBI requirements. It is the first administrative step, not the last. Once you have filed, the ongoing work is documentation — tracking the eleven required subjects and preparing for the annual evaluation.

A well-organized portfolio built throughout the year makes that annual assessment straightforward rather than stressful. The Washington Portfolio & Assessment Templates include a compliance calendar, crosswalk matrix for the eleven subjects, and all the tracking forms you need from the moment the DOI is filed through the end-of-year evaluation.

Quick Reference

Filing the DOI correctly is the foundation of a legally sound home-based instruction program in Washington. Everything else — subjects, assessments, transcripts — builds on this one administrative step.

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