School Attendance. Parents of children who are 8 and under 18 years old must cause their children to attend a public school of the district in which the child resides unless the child is:
Home-Based Instruction. Home-based instruction requires a parent to annually file a declaration of intent to provide their child with home-based instruction beginning when a child is eight.
The signed declaration must be filed with the school district where the parent resides by September 15th of the school year, or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester, or semester. The signed declaration must include the name and age of the child, specify whether a certificated person will be supervising the instruction, and be written in a format prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).
A parent who does not enroll their child in public or private school at age six must file a signed declaration of the parent's plan regarding the education of that child in the school years when the child turns six and seven.
The declaration should include if they are or planning to, or currently receiving, home-based instruction or planning to enroll in public or private school. The declaration must include the name and age of the child and must be written in a format prescribed by SPI.
Each parent must file the declaration by September 15th of the school year or within two weeks of the beginning of any public school quarter, trimester, or semester with the school district within which the parent resides.
In accordance with existing state law, compulsory attendance requirements and the home-based instruction requirements are not applicable until a child is eight.
PRO: Schools need to be able to anticipate who will be coming into the public education system for funding and budgeting purposes. This bill is requiring information that would help the larger community. Washington is the only state in the nation that does not start compulsory education until age eight. There is some data from private schools but no data about homeschooling, which is a great model for some families. The intent of this bill is to understand where kids are at an earlier age.
CON: This bill sends a message that formal education is necessary before age eight. Washington state should be proud that compulsory education does not begin until age eight because it recognizes that kids learn best in an informal setting. Other states also allow families to wait for formal education, so Washington is not alone. Homeschooling allows children to learn at their own pace and to be more active. Home schooled children make better leaders and employees because they are not conditioned to industrial habits. Home schooling also provides stability for children from military families and allows tailoring education to individual children's needs. This bill is an attempt at more government control and overreach and creates redundant bureaucracy and wastes tax payer dollars on processing forms. This bill requires parents to predict two years in advance of what choice they will make for their children's education. But families are still determining their children's emerging needs at age six. This bill is vague in what information OSPI will collect. The state has no business in families' homes. The constitution guarantees liberty and self-governance. Washington has some of the strictest home schooling requirements. This bill is a first step to more bills burdening homeschooling. Homeschoolers are some of the most civically minded and helpful community. Homeschooling is working and is successful.
PRO: Senator Lisa Wellman, Prime Sponsor; Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
CON: Leah Houser; Anna Burt; Melissa Steiner; Debra Donahue; Jen Garrison Stuber; Emilie Fogle; Maria Dispenza; John Axtell; Samantha Oxstien; Marchauna Rodgers; Jeremiah Besso; Sarah Garriott; Eric Pratt, America; Michael Nehring; Imelda Arellano.