What about children younger than 8? Do they have to be in school?

Washington's “compulsory attendance law” starts at age 8. Parents can choose whether to send their younger children to school. If a parent decides to enroll a child who is 6 or 7, then the student must attend school regularly, on time, unless there is a valid excuse (or the parent decides to remove them from school). And remember, children have a right to access free public school starting at age 5!