Arizona vs Washington: Homeschool Laws Compared

Washington is the more regulated of the two: it requires notice and a periodic assessment, while Arizona requires notice but no testing or evaluation. They differ on 6 of the 9 rules compared: hours or days per year, required subjects, testing or evaluation, compulsory school ages, ESA funding, and public school sports access.

Rules compared

9

Differences

6

Same in both

3

The rules, side by side

Rows where the two states differ are marked. Tap a state name for its full guide, deadlines, and sources.

Figures are the same verified compliance data shown on each state's page. Requirements change; confirm with your state before you rely on one.

Moving from Arizona to Washington

Once you are a Washington resident you homeschool under Washington's rules. These are the ones that change.

1. Start logging from your first day: Washington counts 1,000 hours over 180 days a year, and Arizona set no minimum.
2. Washington's required list adds writing, spelling, language, history, health, occupational education, art, and music and drops grammar compared with Arizona's. Match Washington's wording in your records.
3. Washington requires parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation), annually. Arizona had no assessment rule, so plan for it in your first year.
4. Compulsory school ages are 8-18 in Washington against 6-16 in Arizona, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
5. Washington has no ESA program. Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is for Arizona residents, so budget without it.
6. Can homeschoolers play public school sports? In Washington the answer is yes, with conditions; in Arizona it was yes.

Moving from Washington to Arizona

Once you are a Arizona resident you homeschool under Arizona's rules. These are the ones that change.

1. Arizona sets no hour or day minimum. Keep the log anyway; it is what you show if anyone asks, and what you build a transcript from.
2. Arizona's required list adds grammar and drops writing, spelling, language, history, health, occupational education, art, and music compared with Washington's. Match Arizona's wording in your records.
3. Arizona requires no testing or evaluation. Keep Washington's past results with your records; colleges may still ask for them.
4. Compulsory school ages are 6-16 in Arizona against 8-18 in Washington, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
5. Arizona runs Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA). Check whether your family qualifies; Washington had no comparable program.
6. Can homeschoolers play public school sports? In Arizona the answer is yes; in Washington it was yes, with conditions.

What stays the same

Arizona and Washington match on notice of intent, the portfolio, and progress reports. Your habits on those carry over unchanged.

Do your records transfer?

Neither Arizona nor Washington takes homeschool records from another state, and there is no transfer process between them. You keep your own: the hours or attendance log, work samples, and any grades or transcripts. Those are what the new state, and later a college, may ask to see. Homeschool Fox keeps them in one account that moves with your family.

Keep comparing

• Arizona vs California 6 rules differ
• Arizona vs Colorado 6 rules differ
• Arizona vs Illinois 5 rules differ
• Arizona vs New Mexico 6 rules differ
• Arizona vs Texas 4 rules differ
• California vs Washington 6 rules differ
• Idaho vs Washington 5 rules differ
• Oregon vs Washington 4 rules differ
• Texas vs Washington 6 rules differ
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• States That Require Homeschool Testing or Evaluation All 19 states in one table