How to Start Homeschooling in Wisconsin

Yes. Homeschooling in Wisconsin is fully legal and well-established in state law. Wis. Stat. 118.167 creates the home-based private educational program framework. Wisconsin law treats your homeschool as a type of private school, but with its own simplified rules. The HBPEP category is legally distinct from institutional private schools. Do not confuse the two. A single family should not attempt to register as a generic "private school" when the HBPEP pathway exists for exactly this purpose.

Wisconsin has deep roots in educational freedom. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), originated here. In that case, the Court ruled that Amish families in Green County could not be compelled to send their children to school beyond eighth grade. While Yoder applies specifically to the Amish and similar religious communities — it does not create a general religious exemption — it remains one of the most important education freedom cases in American legal history. The principle is codified in part through Wis. Stat. 118.15(3).

You do not need any special qualifications to homeschool your child in Wisconsin. No teaching degree. No college diploma. No certification. Under Wis. Stat. 115.001(3g), the program must be provided by the child's parent or guardian, or by someone the parent designates. That is the only requirement. Wisconsin home education is built on trust in parents.

Wisconsin's compulsory education law covers children ages 6 through 18. Your child must be 6 on or before September 1 of the school year for the requirement to kick in. The obligation continues until your child turns 18.

There is one exception for older teens. Under Wis. Stat. 118.15(1)(b) and (c), children who are 16 or 17 may be excused from compulsory attendance with parental consent under certain conditions. If your child is younger than 6, you have no legal obligation to begin formal instruction. You can start whenever you choose, but the law does not require it.

Starting to homeschool in Wisconsin takes just a few steps. None require permission or approval.

Step 1: File Form PI-1206 with the Wisconsin DPI. Go to the DPI's online filing page at dpi.wi.gov/sms/home-based/online-filing. Fill out the form with your program name and address, your name as parent or guardian, each child's name, age, and date of birth, and your school district of residence. You will confirm two things: that you will provide at least 875 hours of instruction, and that you will teach a sequentially progressive curriculum in the six required subjects. Submit it online or mail it in. The deadline is October 15 of each school year.

Step 2: If withdrawing from public school, notify the school. This is not legally required, but it is strongly recommended. Write a short letter to the school with your child's name, grade, school name, the effective date of withdrawal, and a statement that your child will be enrolled in a HBPEP under Wis. Stat. 118.167. This prevents truancy referrals and helps you get your child's records.

Step 3: Start teaching. Cover the six required subjects — reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health — in a sequentially progressive curriculum. Provide at least 875 hours of instruction over the year. You pick the curriculum, the schedule, and the materials. Nobody approves or reviews them. You are ready to go.

Under Wis. Stat. 118.167, the only form you file is the PI-1206 (Home-Based Private Educational Program Enrollment Form). It goes to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction — not your local school district. Filing with the district instead of the DPI is one of the most common mistakes new Wisconsin homeschool families make. The district has nothing to do with your filing. Send it to the DPI.

The PI-1206 asks for your program name and address, parent or guardian name, each child's name, age, and date of birth, your school district of residence, a statement about the 875-hour requirement, and a statement about providing a sequentially progressive curriculum. You can file online or by mail. There is no fee.

This form must be refiled every school year by October 15. It is not a one-time filing. Some families file once and assume they are set for future years. They are not. A new PI-1206 is required each year. If you begin homeschooling after October 15, file the form immediately — before your child stops attending public school. You cannot file retroactively. File first, then withdraw.

Wisconsin requires six subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. These come from Wis. Stat. 118.165(1)(a), which applies to HBPEPs through Wis. Stat. 118.167.

The law uses the phrase "sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction." In plain terms, your teaching must build on what came before and grow more complex each year. You cannot repeat the same material year after year. This is a real statutory requirement. But beyond that, Wisconsin gives you wide freedom. You do not need to follow state standards. You do not need approved textbooks. You never submit curriculum plans for review. The state does not define what "reading" or "science" must include. You decide how to teach each subject and what materials to use.

You can teach additional subjects like foreign language, music, art, or physical education. Many families do. But those extras are not legally required.

Wisconsin requires at least 875 hours of instruction per school year under Wis. Stat. 118.165(1)(c). Spread across 175 days, that works out to about five hours per day. But the law sets no minimum number of days and no minimum hours per day. The 875 hours is a total annual number. You decide how to structure it.

This flexibility is one of the biggest advantages of homeschooling in Wisconsin. You can teach evenings, weekends, or year-round. You do not need to follow the public school calendar. There is no requirement to log or report your hours to anyone. Keeping a simple calendar or log is a smart habit in case anyone ever asks, but Wisconsin does not require it.

Wisconsin has two pathways for home education. One is far more common.

Pathway 1: Home-Based Private Educational Program (HBPEP) — This is the standard pathway under Wis. Stat. 118.167. File the PI-1206 annually, teach six subjects, provide 875 hours. No testing, no curriculum approval, no reporting beyond the annual form. Nearly every homeschooling family in Wisconsin uses this pathway.

Pathway 2: Private School — Under Wis. Stat. 118.165, a parent could establish or enroll in a private school. Private schools have the same subject and 875-hour requirements, but they function as institutional schools and must employ or contract with teachers. Some families form small group private schools. This pathway is uncommon for single-family homeschooling and carries additional obligations.

A warning about co-ops: This is where Wisconsin homeschool laws get strict. The HBPEP statute covers home-based instruction only. Under Wis. Stat. 118.165, multi-family instructional programs automatically fall outside the HBPEP definition. The risk level here is high. Supplemental enrichment activities, social groups, field trips, and extracurriculars are fine. But any regular instructional program serving children from multiple families — even an informal co-op — technically does not qualify as a HBPEP. If your family participates in a co-op, keep your core academic instruction at home. Use the co-op for enrichment and socializing only.

File with the DPI, not the district. This bears repeating because it is the single most common filing mistake. Your PI-1206 goes to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Your local school district is not involved in the filing process.

Keep copies of every PI-1206. Wisconsin has no statutory recordkeeping requirement beyond the annual form. But your filed forms document a continuous history of legal homeschooling. Save a copy each year. Also keep basic records of what you taught and anything that supports your 875-hour claim.

Build a high school transcript starting in ninth grade. Wisconsin does not issue a state diploma for HBPEP students. Parents issue their own diploma. There is no state template for transcripts. The University of Wisconsin system generally requires ACT or SAT scores and parent-generated transcripts for homeschool applicants. Start the transcript in ninth grade so you are not scrambling later.

Know that part-time public school access is not guaranteed. Wisconsin does not give HBPEP students a statutory right to take individual public school courses or join extracurricular activities, including sports. Access depends entirely on your local school board. Some districts allow it. Others do not. Contact your district early if this matters to your family.

Understand special needs realities. If your child has an IEP, children in HBPEPs are not entitled to IEP services from the public school district. Your child is still entitled to a Child Find evaluation under federal IDEA law. Contact your district's special education office to request one. But ongoing services are not guaranteed. The Special Needs Scholarship Program under Wis. Stat. 115.7915 provides vouchers for students with disabilities to attend private schools, but it does not apply to HBPEPs.

Wisconsin has voucher programs, but not for homeschoolers. The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, Racine Parental Choice Program, and statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program fund qualifying private schools under Wis. Stat. 119.23 and 118.60. These do not apply to HBPEPs.

HBPEPs are generally exempt from immunization requirements. HBPEPs are not considered "schools" in the traditional sense, so state immunization rules typically do not apply. If your child participates part-time in public school activities, you may need to comply with immunization requirements for those specific activities.

Connect with the Wisconsin Parents Association. The WPA at homeschoolingwpa.org is the state homeschool support organization. They can help with questions about Wisconsin homeschool laws, curriculum, and connecting with families near you.