SEATTLE (AP) - Parents who homeschool their children have asked Washington lawmakers to exempt their registration forms from state public disclosure laws. The Legislature appears poised to grant their request.

Two bills concerning homeschooling and public information have passed the House and on Monday quickly passed out of the Senate Education Committee. Committee Chairwoman Rosemary McAuliffe said she had heard no opposition to the bills.

Exemptions to state public disclosure laws have become increasingly common.

When Washington's public records laws were approved by voters in 1972, there were only 10 exemptions allowing government records to be kept secret. Since then, the list has grown to more than 300.

Rowland Thompson, executive director for Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, said his organization does not oppose this new exemption because the information contained in the annual declaration of intent to homeschool, which is filed with school districts, can be obtained elsewhere.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, who has made improving open government one of his top priorities, has not come out for or against the homeschooling bills.

State education officials know of nearly 20,000 Washington school children who are educated at home, but suspect that number is low because some districts do not report homeschooling numbers to the state.

DiAnna Brannan, a volunteer lobbyist for the Christian Homeschool Network of Washington, estimated the actual number of homeschooled kids is twice as large.

Brannan, who spoke in support of the bill at a Monday hearing, suspects some parents may not be registering with their districts because they are worried their private information could be shared with the public.

Most homeschooling forms ask for the children's names and ages and a parent's name, address and phone number. Many ask if the home-based instruction will be supervised by a certified teacher.

Brannan said some districts ask for additional information such as birth date, ethnicity and Social Security numbers, and this data is also subject to the public records law.

Public schools are not required to share such information about their students with the public, and Brannan said release of the homeschooling forms could pose both a privacy and security risk. She expressed concern that someone could use the forms to find moms and kids home alone.

"We're not paranoid as much as we try to be cautious," Brannan said.

The second bill she spoke in favor of would prevent school districts from using the information gathered through the homeschool form to send targeted, but unsolicited mail concerning learning programs offered by the school district such as online or part-time classroom education.

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The homeschooling bills are House Bill 1288 and Senate House Bill 1110.