Homeschool benefits: City of Washington and Washington School District
The School District of Washington lets full-time home school, Family Paced Education (FPE), and virtual school students who live inside its boundaries try out for district teams and clubs under Missouri Senate Bill 63. Your child meets the same academic, conduct, physical, and fee rules as enrolled students.
Who qualifies
Lives in the district
Your child must live inside the School District of Washington attendance boundaries and not be enrolled full time in the district.
Learns full time outside
Senate Bill 63 covers students who are full time in a home school, Family Paced Education (FPE) school, or virtual school program.
Meets the same standards
Your child needs academic eligibility, good conduct, a valid physical for athletics, and the applicable participation fees, and follows the Student Code of Conduct.
What your child needs
The rules come from the district's nontraditional student participation page on the Blue Jays Athletics site.
- District teams and clubs
- Make the tryout or qualification
- Choir, band, theatre, speech and debate, FFA
- Enroll in the matching course
- Athletics
- Valid physical exam
- Participation fees
- Same as enrolled students
- Homeschool association teams
- Not at the same time
The page does not list fee amounts, so ask Activities Director Adam Fischer what your child's sport or club costs.
How to sign up
- Before tryouts
Email the activities director
Contact Adam Fischer to confirm your child's eligibility and the sport's or club's requirements.
- Before the season
Get a physical
Athletes need a valid physical exam on file, the same as enrolled students.
- Tryouts
Earn a spot
Your child tries out or meets the club's qualification requirements.
- All season
Stay eligible
Keep up academic and conduct standards and pay any participation fees.
What it includes
Included
- District-sponsored athletic teams
- District clubs
- Course-based activities when your child takes the course
Not included
- Students living outside the district
- Playing for a home school association at the same time
Good to know
Resident homeschoolers can try out
A full-time home school, FPE, or virtual student who lives in the district can play for the School District of Washington. Your child tries out like any other student.
Who to contact about participation
Activities Director Adam Fischer answers questions about nontraditional student participation.
adam.fischer@sdowmo.org 636-231-2180 Nontraditional participation
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Missouri
No annual homeschool registration required. If withdrawing from public school, a written notice requesting removal from its rolls documents the change.
Missouri sets these rules:
- Subjects: For students under 16, offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction: 600 in reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, or related courses, including 400 at the regular homeschool location. The statutory hours and recordkeeping rules do not apply at age 16 or older.
- Testing: Missouri does not require standardized testing for homeschoolers.
- Records: For students under 16, keep a subject and activity record, a work-sample portfolio, and progress evaluations, or equivalent written or credible evidence.
- Teachers: No state teaching-license or degree requirement for a homeschool instructor.
Read the Missouri homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Missouri
Questions parents ask
- Does my child have to take a class to join Washington band or choir?
- Yes. Activities tied to a course, such as choir, band, theatre, speech and debate, or FFA, require enrollment in that course.
- Can my child also play on a homeschool association team?
- No. Your child cannot take part in Washington athletics or activities and a home school association's at the same time.
- We are pulling our child out of the district to homeschool. Can they keep playing?
- Yes, as long as your child was academically and behaviorally eligible on the day you withdrew.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Your child can use our lessons between practices and games. The next lesson is ready when they are, without a class time to miss.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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