Homeschool laws in Wisconsin
Checked Oct 12, 2026 against 6 sources · General information, not legal advice.
Your Wisconsin to-do
- File the PI-1206 enrollment report Every year
On or before October 15 of every school year, online with DPI.
Homepen turns this into reminders and ready-to-send letters, and counts your days and hours.
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What Wisconsin asks
Wisconsin parents homeschool through a home-based private educational program and file the online PI-1206 enrollment report with DPI each school year by October 15. The program must give at least 875 hours of instruction a year in reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and health, with no tests or teacher qualifications required.
School age: Ages 6–17. From age 6 until the end of the school term, quarter or semester in which the child turns 18. A child who turns 6 on or before September 1 needs a PI-1206 for that school year; a child enrolled in 5-year-old kindergarten must attend it.
Home-based private educational program
Wis. Stat. § 118.15(4); § 118.165(1); § 115.30(3); § 115.001(3g) · Level 3: Moderate
- Notice: PI-1206 enrollment report to DPI by Oct 15 each year
- Time: at least 875 hours a year
- Subjects: reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, health
- Assessment: none required
- Records: none required by the law
All the details, deadlines and notes
- Notice
- Every year: Every school year, file the online PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report with DPI on or before October 15. It notifies DPI and your resident school district; it is not an application.
The state's form - Time
- 875 hours a year
At least 875 hours of instruction each school year; the law sets no number of days or hours per day. - Subjects
- reading
- language arts
- mathematics
- social studies
- science
- health
- Assessment
- No assessment required
- Portfolio
- Not required
- Reports
- No reports to send
- Records to keep
- No records required by the law
- Teacher
- No qualification required
Deadlines
- File the PI-1206 enrollment report: On or before October 15 of every school year, online with DPI.
A program taught to more than one family unit is not a home-based private educational program.
The instruction may be given by a parent or guardian or by a person they designate.
How Homepen helps
Homepen counts your days and hours as you tick lessons toward this goal, and makes: Attendance & hours report, Daily log, Reading list, Year-end summary, Report card, High-school transcript.
Sources
- Wisconsin DPI: Home-Based Private Education Program (Homeschooling) · State education agency · checked Oct 12, 2026
- Wisconsin DPI: Homeschool Enrollment Reporting (Wis. Stat. § 115.30(3)) · State education agency · checked Oct 12, 2026
- Wis. Stat. § 118.15 Compulsory school attendance (site unreachable from the checking machine; text read from the Wayback snapshot of 2026-08-13, s5) · Statute · checked Oct 12, 2026
- Wis. Stat. § 118.165 Private schools (criteria a home-based program must meet; site unreachable from the checking machine; text read from the Wayback snapshot of 2026-02-22, s6) · Statute · checked Oct 12, 2026
- Wayback Machine snapshot (2026-08-13) of Wis. Stat. § 118.15 · Secondary source · checked Oct 12, 2026
- Wayback Machine snapshot (2026-02-22) of Wis. Stat. § 118.165 · Secondary source · checked Oct 12, 2026
General information, not legal advice. Laws change: we check every source at least every 6 months and before each school year. If something looks wrong, tell us. The state agency for homeschooling questions is the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Keep your Wisconsin records without the paperwork
Plan the week, tick lessons, and Homepen keeps the days, hours and portfolio Wisconsin asks for.
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