Homeschool benefits and savings in Seattle
Seattle Parks and Recreation scholarships lower the cost of classes, camps, swimming, youth athletics, and child care for income-qualified families, with average savings of $873 a year on recreation. Your household's income and size set your eligibility level, from 50% to 90%, and you apply any time online.
Who qualifies
Meets the income guidelines
Eligibility uses total gross household income and household size, with limits up to 250% of the federal poverty level.
Lives in the Seattle area
Anyone in the Seattle area of any age can apply, and you do not have to live inside Seattle city limits.
Proves income and household size
Upload your 2025 federal Form 1040 listing every household member. If you do not file taxes, a current benefit letter or recent pay stubs plus birth certificates for your children can work instead.
Uses Seattle Parks activities
The scholarship applies only to Seattle Parks and Recreation programs, not to other providers or to rentals and reservations.
What it is worth
Seattle Parks' income guidelines, dated January 29, 2026, set the level from gross household income and household size.
- Up to $69,375
- 90%
- $69,375 to $78,047
- 80%
- $78,047 to $87,803
- 70%
- $87,803 to $98,778
- 60%
- $98,778 to $111,125
- 50%
Funds are limited, so approval does not guarantee money is left, and programs you register for before approval are not reimbursed.
From applying to keeping it
- Before you apply
Gather your documents
Have your 2025 Form 1040 ready, with Social Security and bank routing numbers blacked out. Seattle Parks does not accept W-2s, tax transcripts, bank statements, or screenshots.
- Any time
Apply online
Sign in with a City of Seattle account and apply through the CiviForm application, which takes about 20 minutes. You can email for a paper application if you cannot apply online.
- About 2-3 weeks
Get approved
Complete applications take up to two weeks or more in busy seasons. Your scholarship starts on the date you are approved, not the date you applied.
- After approval
Register for programs
Sign up for eligible Seattle Parks classes, camps, swimming, or athletics with your scholarship in place.
- Before spring
Reapply each cycle
The cycle runs from summer to the end of the next spring and always expires in spring. Apply with updated documents in fall or winter to stay covered for summer.
What it pays for
Covered
- Classes
- Camps for ages 3-17
- Swimming and youth athletics
- Environmental Learning Center programs
- School-age child care for ages 5-12
Not covered
- Rentals and reservations
- Registrations made before approval
- Programs run by other providers
The City of Seattle general fund, the Seattle Park District, and the Associated Recreation Council pay for the scholarships, and the funds are limited.
Good to know
Homeschooled children qualify the same way
The scholarship depends only on household income and size, not on where your child goes to school, so a homeschooled child qualifies the same way as any other.
Who to contact
The scholarship office answers application and income document questions Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
scholarship.parks@seattle.gov 206-684-4075 Online application
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Washington
You must file a declaration of intent by September 15 for the school year, or within two weeks after the start of a public-school quarter or term for a later start.
Washington sets these rules:
- Subjects: Teach occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, and art and music appreciation. Provide hours equivalent to the annual program hours per grade for approved private schools under RCW 28A.195.010 and .040.
- Testing: Each year, obtain a state-board-approved standardized test administered by a qualified person or a written assessment by a Washington-certificated person currently working in education.
- Records: Keep annual test or assessment results permanently, along with immunization records. Forward required records if your child transfers to a public or approved private school.
- Teachers: The parent needs 45 college quarter credits or the semester equivalent, a home-instruction course at a postsecondary or vocational-technical institute, supervision by a certificated teacher, or the superintendent’s finding of sufficient qualifications. Teacher supervision includes planned objectives, an average of at least one contact hour per week with the child each month, and progress evaluation; the teacher may supervise no more than 30 children.
Read the Washington homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Washington
Questions parents ask
- Which programs can a homeschooled child use a Seattle Parks scholarship for?
- Any eligible Seattle Parks and Recreation activity, including daytime classes, swimming lessons, youth athletics, and Environmental Learning Center programs. Check the eligible activities list before you register.
- Is $873 the amount we will get?
- No. It is the average yearly savings on recreation scholarships. What you save depends on your eligibility level and the programs you sign up for.
- We paid for a class last month. Can the scholarship cover it?
- No. The program does not fund anything retroactively, so apply and wait for approval before you register.
- What if nobody in our household has income to document?
- You can still apply with documentation of zero income. Contact the scholarship office, which helps families in that situation; cash workers without paperwork should reach out too.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Camps and local activities give your child new interests to explore. Their discoveries can shape the examples and questions they study at home.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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