Private School Approval

A private school is a nonpublic school offering a program that includes kindergarten and at least one grade, or any combination of grades one through twelve. Under Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28A.195.010, the Legislature mandates that the State Board of Education (SBE) annually approve private schools to operate in Washington. These schools must maintain a program that ensures a sufficient basic education for students to meet usual state graduation requirements and meet reasonable standards for health and safety of private school students. 

Check the Status of your Application

Download the Application Status Tracker
This document was last updated 10:40 AM 3/17/2025.

New School Approval

• Review Private School Laws and FAQs before applying. 
• The Head of School will submit the application online, available March 3, 2025.  
• ​​​Are you an online-only school? Click here for more information.

Complete the New School Approval Application

Renewing School Approval

Log in to submit separate applications for each campus. Use the Head of School’s email address as the username and the school building code as the password. If your organization operates multiple facilities, you must submit a separate application must be completed for each campus. 

​​​Complete the Renewing School Approval Application

Key Dates & Deadlines  

• April 1: Approval Applications Due 
• Mid-April: ESEA Federal Programs Application Due 
• June 2: Additional materials due (staffing/inspection paperwork) 
• June 24–26: SBE vote on private school approvals 
• Mid- to late-July: 2025–2026 Approval Certificates available 

Required Paperwork 

• Certificate of Compliance: Signed and uploaded with your application. 

• Staffing Report: For schools employing non-Washington certificated teachers. 

• Health and Fire Inspection Reports: Required for new or renovated schools. 

Note: If you encounter issues downloading forms, try using a different browser. 

Q&A Support Sessions for Applicants 

Do you have questions or issues with your application? The Board is hosting Q&A Zoom meetings happening every Wednesday in March, from 12 p.m. to 12:30p.m. [Link to March Zoom Sessions] 

View Sample Applications

To preview samples of 2025 applications, you may download a PDF of either or both the Sample Renewing Private School Application and Sample New Private School Application. 

What Happens After a School Submits an Application? 

• Confirmation Email: After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation email. Save this email and forward it to relevant staff within your organization. 

• Application Status Tracker: Starting March 10, 2025, check the status of your application by clicking a link to the Application Status Submission Tracker. This tracker is updated weekly. Missing paperwork and the anticipated approval date will be noted in the tracker. Please note: the State Board will not notify you if paperwork is missing. [Link will appear here.] 

• Review Timeline: Applications submitted by April 1 will be reviewed at the Board’s June 2025 meeting. Late applications will be considered at later board meetings. See the 2025 Board Meetings for dates. 

• Compliance: Per Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 180-90-130, schools must file a Certificate of Compliance at least 90 days before the school term starts. 

• Approval Notification: Schools will be notified of approval within the two weeks following the Board's June meeting (or a subsequent meeting if an application was submitted later). 

• Certificates of Approval: Certificates will be available for download within a month of approval. Fully approved schools may also request a web badge from the Private Schools Manager. 

Are you Temporarily or Permanently Closing a School?

You must submit the Closure Form. 

Information for Online-Only Private Schools 

According to RCW 28A.195.090, an approved Washington private school may have an online program. However, completely online schools or schools with physical facilities only outside Washington cannot be approved. Washington private school law assumes a physical facility in the state of Washington where students are enrolled and regularly attend (RCW 28A.195.010(6)).