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Homeschooling in Wisconsin

Homeschool rules in Wisconsin, in plain English

In Wisconsin, a family that homeschools is running a home-based private educational program. Each school year, a parent must file the online PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report (HOMER) with the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) by October 15. The program must give at least 875 hours of instruction each year in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health, using a sequentially progressive curriculum.

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This explains each state's homeschool rules in plain English, from the state's own published sources. It isn't legal advice, and we aren't lawyers. Laws change and every family is different, so check with your state, your school district or a lawyer before you rely on it.

How much it asks
Some paperwork
School age
6 through 18, until the end of the school term in which the child turns 18
Time
875 hours a year

Option 1

Home-based private educational program (homeschooling)

Parents or guardians who teach their own children at home, or who designate another person to teach them. The program must serve one family only. Programs that serve more than one family do not qualify.

  1. Before you startPaperwork

    Confirm the child is of compulsory age

    School attendance is required for children aged 6 through 18. A child under 6 is not required to attend, and the state says a homeschool cannot be used for four- or five-year-old kindergarten.

  2. Before you startTime

    Plan at least 875 hours of instruction

    The program must provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year. The law does not set a daily or weekly schedule, so you choose how the hours are spread across the year.

  3. Before you startWhat to teach

    Plan a sequentially progressive curriculum

    Teach fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health. Each year should build logically on the one before. The state does not approve or choose your curriculum.

  4. Every year by October 15Paperwork

    File the PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report

    File the PI-1206 online through the DPI HOMER system, directly with DPI and not with your local school district. The report counts the children enrolled as of the third Friday in September. You state whether your program meets the legal criteria. Filing is a notice, not a request for permission.

  5. OngoingTime

    Provide instruction throughout the year

    Keep teaching the required subjects and track your hours so you can show you reached 875 hours if asked.

  6. OngoingRecords

    Keep your own records

    DPI recommends keeping a copy of each PI-1206 and records of the instruction you provide. The state does not require DPI to receive these records.

Option 2

Private school (administrator-run program meeting state criteria)

Groups or institutions that want to operate as a private school rather than as a home-based program. Under the statute, the program must be privately controlled and must meet every criterion in the private school definition, including a primary purpose of private or religious-based education. This pathway involves an institution, not a single family.

  1. Before you startGood to know

    Confirm the program meets every private school criterion

    The program must have a primary purpose of private or religious-based education, be privately controlled, provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year, and provide a sequentially progressive curriculum in the required subjects. It must not be run to avoid compulsory attendance, and its pupils must return home to their parents for at least 2 months of summer vacation each year, unless the institution is a licensed child welfare agency.

  2. Before you startGood to know

    Choose whether to seek state recognition

    An institution may ask the state superintendent to approve its program as a private school, based only on the legal criteria. An accreditation or regulatory association may instead submit a sworn statement that the institution meets the criteria, and the state superintendent may then determine it is a private school. The state may withdraw that determination if the criteria are no longer met.

  3. Every year by October 15Paperwork

    Submit the annual private school report

    The administrator of each private school must submit a statement of enrollment on DPI forms by October 15 each year and say whether the program meets all the criteria.

Subjects to teach

  • Reading
  • Language arts
  • Mathematics
  • Social studies
  • Science
  • Health

Tests and reviews

The state does not require standardized testing, a portfolio review, or an evaluation of a homeschool program. DPI says it has no express authority to monitor programs or verify hours or curriculum, although a school district may investigate a specific complaint.

Records to keep

  • A copy of each PI-1206 filed with DPI
  • Records of the instruction provided, kept for your own use and for possible employers or the military

About time

At least 875 hours of instruction each school year. The statute sets a yearly total, not a daily or weekly count, and does not define what counts as an hour.

Also good to know

  • Parents do not need a teaching certificate or any minimum education to homeschool under the home-based program.
  • The state does not approve or accredit home-based programs, including private online or correspondence programs.
  • Parents may enroll a child in a privately operated correspondence or virtual school. The parent is still responsible for meeting the home-based program requirements.
  • A marriage emancipates a minor in Wisconsin, but the emancipated minor remains subject to compulsory attendance until the end of the school term in which they turn 18.
  • A child enrolled in a home-based private program may be excused from school by the program administrator to serve as an election official, if the child has at least a 3.0 grade point average or the equivalent. The administrator must notify the municipal clerk if the child stops being enrolled.

What we couldn’t confirm

  • Whether DPI's online filing window opens July 1, as some non-official guides say. I could not confirm this on an official page.
  • Whether a child must be 6 by September 1 to be reported on the PI-1206. Non-official guides say so, but I did not confirm it on an official source.
  • Whether a family must file within 30 days of starting homeschooling mid-year. This appears only in non-official guides.
  • Whether a home-based program can issue a state-recognized high school diploma. DPI sources I read do not say, and non-official sources disagree.
  • How long records must be kept. No official source I read gives a period.
  • Rules for public school athletics and extracurricular participation for homeschooled students (statute 118.133), and for part-time public school attendance (statute 118.53). I did not read these statutes directly.
  • Rules for returning to public school, special education services, and open enrollment for homeschooled students. I did not confirm these on official sources.
  • Whether an absence from public school is excused for a child in a compliant homeschool program. Official sources I read do not say this directly.

From Wisconsin’s own sources

Last checked against these sources on November 7, 2026. We check every state each week.

How Study Naturally helps in Wisconsin

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Homeschooling in Wisconsin

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