Washington · high school · 2026-2027 school year
Washington homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript
Trellis has no step-by-step law page for Washington yet. The state's own statute and agency sources at the end of this page are the primary references.
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)'s public-school credit and pathway rules bind public high schools, not home-based instruction; RCW 28A.200 lets a qualifying parent file an annual declaration of intent, set their own requirements, and issue the diploma.
The short version
- Who sets the requirement: the state's graduation rules bind public schools, not homeschools. The parent issues the diploma.
- The reference standard: the public-school minimum is 24 credits, and that table is the common starting point a transcript is read against; colleges set their own expectations on top of it, below.
- What colleges actually look for: the universities in the table below publish their own course expectations.
- What a transcript must show: courses by year, credits, and grades, kept by the parent, with the same subject headings the reference table uses.
- Across states: compare what 51 flagship universities ask.
The public-school credit table, for reference
Washington's public-school diploma requires 24 credits. A homeschool is not held to it. It is shown as the reference a transcript is commonly read against. A recruited athlete also registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which grades home-school core courses against its own worksheet, separate from this table.
| Subject | Credits | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | |
| Math | 3 | Algebra I/Integrated Math 1; Geometry/Integrated Math 2; a third math credit chosen with the High School and Beyond Plan. |
| Science | 3 | at least two credits must be lab science |
| Social studies | 3 | US History (1.0); Contemporary World History/Geography (0.5); Civics (0.5); social studies elective (1.0). |
| Foreign language | 2 | both credits may instead be used as Personalized Pathway Requirement credits |
| PE and health | 2 | Health (0.5); Fitness (1.5). |
| Arts | 2 | performing or visual arts. one credit may count toward the Personalized Pathway Requirement |
| Electives | 4 | |
| Other | 1 | Career and Technical Education (CTE), may be satisfied through occupational education courses. |
Assessments in the public-school rules: No single mandatory exam; students satisfy a 'Graduation Pathway' via one option: Smarter Balanced ELA/math scores, ACT/SAT/AP/IB/Cambridge scores, a career and technical education (CTE) sequence, a dual-credit ELA or math course, a transition course, ASVAB, WA-AIM, or a locally adopted performance-based pathway. These exams bind public-school students; a homeschooled student is not required to take them.
What Washington colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for
OSPI's 24-credit framework (Class of 2019+) applies to public high schools; homeschooling parents in WA are not bound by it and set their own scope and sequence. The universities' CADR expectations (2 years of one world language, lab science, senior-year math) are in their tables below if a student may apply to UW, WSU, or another WA public university, since those are admission standards, not graduation-diploma law.
Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.
flagship University of Washington
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | – |
| Math | 3 | – |
| Science | 3 | – |
| Social studies | 3 | – |
| Foreign language | 2 | – |
| Arts | 0.5 | – |
1 senior-year math-based quantitative course as its own CADR line, beside 3 math and 3 science; 0.5 academic elective credit in a core subject; total 17 CADR credits
Math must reach second-year algebra; science needs 2 lab credits incl. biology/chemistry/physics; world language credits must be the same language through year two. University of Washington requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Washington State University (statewide College Academic Distribution Requirements, used by WA's public 4-year universities)
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | – |
| Math | 3 | – |
| Science | 3 | – |
| Social studies | 3 | – |
| Foreign language | 2 | – |
| Arts | 1 | – |
1 senior-year math-based quantitative credit included within the math/science totals; total 17 CADR credits
WSU states it uses Washington's statewide CADR framework rather than a separate institutional course list; math must include Algebra II or higher. Washington State University (statewide College Academic Distribution Requirements, used by WA's public 4-year universities) requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Questions families ask
Does Washington require a homeschool diploma?
Show answer
How many credits does a Washington homeschool diploma need?
Show answer
Who signs a homeschool transcript in Washington?
Show answer
What does University of Washington expect from a homeschooled applicant?
Show answer
How Trellis checks your transcript against this table
In Trellis, the courses you plan and the work your children check off become the transcript as you go. The graduation card reads that transcript against the table above and says, subject by subject, what is earned and what is still open, and it notices a course filed under the wrong heading before a college does. Nothing is retyped at the end of senior year.
Start your family's transcript Every state's pages