Wisconsin asks for very little. Wisconsin is a light-touch state. There is something to file, and it is short. Below is exactly what, by when, and where it comes from in the code.

What you file, and by when

Yes. File Form PI-1206 (Homeschool Report) with the Department of Public Instruction annually, on or before October 15. Section I reports the number of students enrolled in the home-based program on the third Friday in September; Section II is the parent's affirmation that the program meets the statutory criteria. Filing is online through DPI. No child names, curriculum, or evidence is submitted, there is no approval step, and DPI retains the filing for seven years. Keep your own copy, DPI does not routinely issue confirmations that districts will accept.

Days or hours

At least 875 hours of instruction per school year (Wis. Stat. § 118.165(1)(c)). Hours, not days, the family defines the schedule and the school year. There is no statutory authority for any district or agency to audit or verify the hours.

Subjects you must cover

A 'sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction' in six areas: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health (Wis. Stat. § 118.165(1)(d)). A program providing religious-based education need not include any curriculum in conflict with its religious doctrines. The statute does not prescribe scope, sequence, texts or grade-level standards.

Records you keep

No records are required to be submitted or maintained by statute, and DPI states the statutes give no agency express authority to monitor a home-based program or verify hours or curriculum. DPI nonetheless recommends parents keep records of instruction, since employers, the military and postsecondary institutions commonly request them. Keep hour logs, curriculum plans, grades and work samples for the high school years in particular.

Testing or evaluation

None. No standardized testing, evaluation, portfolio review or progress reporting is required, and no results are ever reported to the state.

Diplomas and transcripts

DPI states plainly that 'parents administering a homeschool program may create a diploma upon completion of their program.' There is no state homeschool diploma, no state credit definition, no minimum credit count, and no state transcript. Wis. Stat. § 118.165(1) is the sole graduation standard, which means the 875 hours/six subjects applies through the high school years too. Equal-access rights are unusually strong: Wis. Stat. § 118.133 guarantees homeschooled resident students the right to participate in interscholastic athletics on the same basis as enrolled students; Wis. Stat. § 118.53 allows homeschooled students to take up to two courses per semester in a public school; and homeschooled students may participate in Early College Credit / Start College Now. Wisconsin has no homeschool ESA; the state's parental choice programs require enrollment in a participating private school, and accepting a choice-program seat ends home-based status.

Where this comes from

Statute: Wis. Stat. §§ 115.001(3g) (definition of home-based private educational program), 115.30(3) (annual PI-1206 report), 118.15(1)(a) & (4) (compulsory attendance exemption), 118.165(1) (875 hours; six subjects); see also §§ 118.133, 118.53

Source: https://dpi.wi.gov/parental-education-options/home-based

Last reviewed: July 2026 · our confidence in this entry: high

Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without announcing it. Check the statute above against your own reading before a filing deadline. If we are out of date, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.

Keeping the records is the other half of this. Our Records System has the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.