Homeschooling in Wisconsin? Here’s your plan.

Wisconsin is a low-regulation state. Under Wis. Stat. 115.30(3), each home-based private educational program submits a report to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction on or before October 15 each year, on the department's form. DPI's form is PI-1206, completed online in your HOMER account, and parents must complete it every school year. The report covers enrollment and whether your program meets the criteria in Wis. Stat. 118.165(1).

Your program must provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year and a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. You choose your materials and approach. The 875 hours can be arranged however works for your family.

Wisconsin also gives homeschooled students access to activities. Under Wis. Stat. 118.133, a school board must permit a pupil who lives in the district and is enrolled in a home-based private educational program to participate in interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities on the same basis and to the same extent as enrolled pupils.

Wisconsin's Home-Based Private Educational Program (HBPEP) is the pathway for families teaching their own children at home. Under Wis. Stat. 115.001(3g), it is a program of educational instruction provided to a child by the child's parent or guardian or by a person the parent or guardian designates, and an instructional program provided to more than one family unit is not an HBPEP. A separate private school pathway exists under Wis. Stat. 118.165 with the same subject and 875-hour criteria. If your child attends a Wisconsin private school, the school's administrator files the school's enrollment report with DPI by October 15 (Wis. Stat. 115.30(3)), and you do not file a PI-1206.

File Form PI-1206 by October 15. File with DPI each school year using the online form in your HOMER account. If your child will reach age six on or before September 1, DPI says you will need to submit a PI-1206 for that school year.

Plan your 875 hours. You can arrange the hours any way you choose. The law sets no minimum days or hours per day, and state law does not require attendance records. DPI recommends keeping records of the instruction you provide, because colleges, employers and the military may ask for them.

Know the co-op rule. Under Wis. Stat. 115.001(3g), an instructional program provided to more than one family unit does not constitute a home-based private educational program. If you take part in a co-op, check how it fits before relying on it for core instruction.

Sports and activities. Under Wis. Stat. 118.133, school boards must allow HBPEP students who live in the district to participate in interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities on the same basis as enrolled students. The school may charge the same participation fees it charges enrolled students.

Prepare transcripts early for college. Homeschool students do not receive a diploma from a public or private high school. DPI notes that parents may create a diploma when the program is complete.

Know the special education landscape. IEP services end when you withdraw from public school. Contact your district's special education office to ask about evaluation and any services available.