How to Unschool in Vancouver Washington?

[Danielle]

Hi I stay home with my 6 children all under the age of 11 years old, and we are looking at moving to Vancouver, WA, but I wonder how can we unschool with all the WA laws regarding getting "certified" and having to take tests or evaluations yearly which seems like a lot! So I was wondering if any unschoolers have found any loopholes so to speak and yet still be "legally" homeschooling in the state? I have been considering the Portland, OR side of things as well. But I would like to know of some safe communities in Vancouver that is unschool friendly, farmers markets and on the side of Portland, OR as well.

Thanks for any help...I've been researching for hours and days and I still can't decide on what side is better for us...Vancouver, WA or Portland, OR?

Danielle

[Frank Maier]

Nobody's responded so I'll give it a shot but you should check an objective source like http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/laws/blWA.htm for factual info.

1. You must register every year at the beginning of the school year. RCW 28A.200.010(1)(a)

2. You must have ONE of the following: 1. 45 college quarter credits, or 2. take a homeschooling instruction class (available at most community colleges. Short and cheap.), or 3. have approval from you school district superintendent. RCW 28A.225.010(4)(b)

3. Do annual testing or evaluation. This information is NOT required to be shared with anyone. The state cannot demand or even ask to see it. RCW 28A.200.010(1)(b)

Finally, RCW 28A.225.010(5) demands that these regulations be liberally construed.

WA is not as bad as you fear. However, the decision between WA or OR is something I'll leave to you.

[Danielle]

Hi Frank, thank you for the reply and help.

I have noticed their are some private unbrella schools you can register with every year but they seem to charge a fee and a fee for evaluations. This could be quite pricey when I would have 6 children to register for...to do it a little cheaper I could just register with the school district for nothing every year and then just pay a private place for the evaluations, so I guess I could cut the cost in half. Or I guess the cheapest would be to not pay for evaluations altogether knowing that the state can't even ask to see them, as long as I wouldn't get in trouble by not testing or evaluating I would rather not do them anyway.
It would be cool to find a "unschool" friendly private unbrella to register with and do evaluation checklists with a very minimal cost.

If anyone knows of a private unbrella school that is unschool friendly and doesn't charge a ton would be great to know, thanks again, Danielle

[Frank Maier]

Dunno about umbrella schools or their pricing structure but we buy mailorder tests every year, just for the sake of doing it, for about $30~35/kid. Mailed to us, we administer, mail it back, they send us the results.

If you have a friend who's a teacher, they can do an "evaluation" for free or beer or cookies or something. Or, yeah, you can just skip the whole thing and make something up if the kids ever wanna go to a brick-and-mortar institution.

[Meredith]

Danielle, have you asked here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WashingtonRadicalUnschoolers/

[Danielle]

Thanks Meredith for the Washington group info! I will be looking into that.

[LisaRussell]

the certification class can be done via the mail and it's less than $100 - that's the easiest route if you don't have the college credits.

ALSO- you don't have to 'prove" that you're "qualified" unless someone raises a stink about it.

[Ren]

We lived in WA when we first started homeschooling in the mid-90's and found it very easy by registering with a local umbrella school. They hosted classes by and for homeschoolers but I think you could still use them as a cover even without taking any classes. We took fun computer stuff together (parents and children could do everything together) and other topics that interested us. I don't know if they've gotten more structured but WA is famous for it's satellite schools for homeschoolers. I'm sure it's not as hard as it sounds regardless of the method you choose for meeting the law.

[Jasie VanGesen]

We're in WA and I took the course to get certified back when I was pregnant with my son, just so it'd be an option down the road. The class was cheap and only 2 days, 8 hours each day. They even provided childcare. It was through a local church (which I'd normally avoid at all costs), but you've gotta do what you've gotta do. We only decided to unschool him after 3 years in the public system, so I've only had to submit my letter of intent twice (when we pulled him out last Feb and for the upcoming school year) and it was a very simple piece of paper that I basically signed and turned in. I have yet to be asked for my certificate that I'm qualified to homeschool by the state... so I may not have ever needed it, but better safe than sorry.

WA is a very homeschool friendly state, in my experience. I have no idea about Oregon, but it's a pretty liberal state and would probably have similar guidelines.

[Ren]

It depends. Some of the more liberal states have harder regulations because a lot of liberals are big supporters of public schools. Alaska is a largely conservative state and has zero homeschool regulation.

[Alan Marshall]

That's a good point. We live in Oklahoma, which has no regulation. Nor does Texas next door. Most bible belt states seem to be like that. Every now and then my dw will apply for a job in another state, prompting some preliminary research into homeschooling laws. In general, it seems like the east coast blue states have the most regulation.

[Joni Zander]

Danielle,

When we lived in WA, I just had a friend, who was a part time school teacher talk with my kids every year, for about five minutes! That was their eval! That's probably my biggest loop hole advise - but also, unless it's changed, they don't have to be registered until they are eight years old.

A good friend of mine was the homeschool contact for the Spokane school district and hadn't sent in a notice of intent for years! They still gave out her name to everyone, even though she wasn't even legal any more. It's not like they pay someone to hunt down homeschoolers. I also became very good friends with the gal who became the school district employee in charge of homeschoolers - and she flat out told me that she had much better things to do then go creating trouble for homeschoolers - she really didn't care if someone was registered or not. It may not be quite so loosey goosey in Vancouver, but I doubt that it is a huge big deal. Definitely not something you need to pay someone to do for you.

Oregon really isn't that much different, except that I don't think the require parents to be "certified" - I don't know since I have a BA. We have one kid registered (because she wanted to get her learner's permit) and one kid still under the radar. And my name is really out there, as I'm heavily involved in several homeschool programs on the organizer level.