Homeschool Hours Required in Washington

Washington requires a minimum of 1,000 hours of instruction per school year. This must be spread over at least 180 school days.

Hours per year

1,000

School days

180

Required hours

1000 hrs/year

School days

180 days/year

Required subjects

12 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation)

Recordkeeping

Recommended

Jump to the full Washington requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

What Washington requires

Washington sets two numbers you satisfy at the same time: 1,000 hours and 180 days. Clearing the hours across fewer, longer days leaves the second one unmet, and it is the half families notice last.

What counts as an instructional hour

Desk time is one kind of instruction. The hour count takes in the rest of it too. Reading together, a museum trip, a science documentary you talk through afterward, music practice, and a co-op class all count the same as a workbook page. Unstructured free time with no educational purpose does not. Washington will never ask you to defend a single entry, so hold yourself to a simple test: could you explain it to someone who asked?

The daily and weekly math

Spread over 180 school days, 1,000 hours is about 5.6 hours a day. Across a 36 week year that's roughly 27.8 hours a week, or 5.0 days a week.

When your school year starts and ends

Your count resets with your school year, so the dates you pick carry as much weight as the total. Set your start and end dates before you log anything, then keep them steady from one year to the next. Homeschool Fox asks for your school year once in settings and measures your totals against it from then on.

If you fall behind

Washington has no formal shortfall process, so you fix a gap yourself: extend your year, add days, or count instruction you have been doing without recording it. Field trips, read alouds, and life skills work are legitimate hours that families forget to log. A gap you spot in February is a small schedule change. The same gap found in June means teaching through the summer.

Work out your Washington pace

Washington requires 1000 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.

Common mistakes in Washington

• Tracking hours and days when you only need one

  Washington's requirement is 1,000 hours or 180 days, not both. Pick the one that fits how your family schedules and track that one. Trying to satisfy both doubles the record keeping for no compliance benefit.

Your Washington hours checklist

Five habits that keep the number honest without turning record keeping into a second job.

1. 1

   Write down your target

   1,000 hours for the year.

2. 2

   Pick your school year dates

   Decide when your year starts and ends before you log anything. Your hours count is measured against that window.

3. 3

   Log the same day you teach

   Most records fall apart when a family tries to reconstruct a month of hours from memory. A minute at the end of the day keeps that from happening.

4. 4

   Check your pace monthly

   One look a month tells you whether your current average still lands you on target, while there is time to adjust.

5. 5

   Keep the log as long as Washington expects

   Even where you submit nothing, the log is what answers the question if a question comes.

What this looks like in Homeschool Fox

Homeschool Fox counts every logged activity against your Washington target, so a gap shows up while you still have time to close it.

Free Washington printables

Two ready-to-use PDFs for Washington homeschoolers. No account needed.

Templates, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with your state or district.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Washington

Everything Washington expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 1000-hour goal
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Washington guides

• Washington Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• How to Start Homeschooling in Washington A step-by-step guide from withdrawal to your first logged day.
• Homeschooling High School in Washington Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Washington What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
• How to Withdraw From School in Washington The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Moving to Washington What to file when you arrive and whether your records transfer.
• Public School Sports in Washington Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Required Subjects in Washington The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Washington Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Washington Year End Report What goes in it, when it's due, and who reviews it.
• Homeschool Testing in Washington What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.