Wisconsin asks for one online report a year, the PI-1206, filed by October 15. You commit to 875 hours and a sequential curriculum in six subjects, and nobody approves, tests, or reviews your program.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
File the PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report online with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) every school year, on or before October 15. Your program must give at least 875 hours of instruction a year and a sequentially progressive curriculum in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. The report is a notice, not an application: neither DPI nor your school district approves it. There is no testing, no required record keeping, and no teaching credential for the parent.
Wisconsin's legal name for homeschooling: instruction given to a child by the child's parent or guardian, or by a person the parent designates. A program taught to more than one family unit does not count as a home-based program.
DPI says a child enrolled in a program from a private company or school that is not a Wisconsin private school is homeschooled. You still file the PI-1206 and remain responsible for meeting the home-based program criteria.
Your child learns at home but is a public school student, so you do not file a PI-1206. DPI says a virtual charter student receives a public school diploma. A virtual charter in another district usually means applying for open enrollment.
Each administrator of a home-based private educational program must submit, on forms provided by DPI, a statement of enrollment by October 15. The report gives your enrollment on the third Friday of September and says whether your program meets all the criteria for a home-based program. DPI takes the report only online, opens it on July 1 for the new school year, and says a district cannot compel you to submit it before October 15.
If you withdraw your child from a public or private school after October 15, DPI says to submit or update the PI-1206 on or before the date your child stops attending. Your child counts as enrolled in your homeschool on the date you click Submit. Update the report if you move to a different school district or the number of children you homeschool changes.
The program must provide at least 875 hours of instruction each school year. The law sets no number of days and no hours per day.
The program must provide a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health. The law does not require any topic that conflicts with the program's religious beliefs. DPI does not approve or recommend curricula, and does not supply materials.
The program may not be run for the purpose of avoiding the compulsory school attendance requirement. DPI says no agency has express authority to monitor homeschools, but a district may have implied authority to look into a complaint and could invite you to a meeting to document your hours and curriculum.
A child between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school until the end of the term, quarter, or semester in which the child turns 18, unless excused or graduated. Instruction in a home-based program that meets the criteria above may be substituted for that attendance.
| July 1 | The PI-1206 opens for the new school year. You can file any time from here. |
| Third Friday of September | The enrollment count date. The report states how many children were in your homeschool on this day. |
| By October 15 | Submit the PI-1206 online. Print or save the confirmation copy. |
| During the year | Teach toward at least 875 hours across the six subjects. Nothing is filed or reviewed. |
| If something changes | Sign back in and update the PI-1206 if you move to another district, add or remove a child, or enroll a child in a school. |
No. DPI says the PI-1206 report is not an application, and neither DPI nor your school district has authority to approve or deny a homeschool program. Submitting it tells the state and your resident district that your child is enrolled in a home-based program.
The law sets October 15 each year. DPI opens the report for a new school year on July 1, and it stays available all year. If you take your child out of a public or private school after October 15, DPI says to submit or update the report on or before the date your child stops attending.
No. Compulsory attendance starts at age six. DPI says that if your child will not be six on or before September 1, you do not need to file a PI-1206 for that school year, and you cannot enroll a child in a homeschool for four- or five-year-old kindergarten. A child already enrolled in a school's 5K must attend through the end of the term, so follow the district's withdrawal steps if you change your mind.
No. DPI says Wisconsin's homeschooling laws do not require any testing or assessment. You can arrange testing yourself, and you may ask your district about its local tests, which may carry a fee.
Yes. A school board must let a homeschooled student who lives in the district join interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities on the same basis as enrolled students, with the same fees. Your child may also take up to two courses a semester at public schools, space permitting, if your child meets the course's admission standards.
A free parent account comes with a Home class. Add your children as students and see every project they make and every lesson they finish. See what they can make, by age.
Make a free parent accountReference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.