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Wisconsin’s Home-Based Private Educational Program (homeschool) law affirms the child’s parent or guardian is the administrator of their homeschool. As the administrator of your homeschool in Wisconsin, you have full responsibility for and authority over your child’s education. But what does that actually mean?
The administrator of a HBPEP is legally equivalent to
the administrator of any public or private school in Wisconsin.
As the administrator of your homeschool in Wisconsin, you control
the structure and style of your homeschool and your annual schedule,
just as public, private, and tribal school administrators do for their schools.
As the administrator of your homeschool in Wisconsin, you are required to:
- Provide 875 hours of instruction each academic year.
- Provide a “sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health.”
- Properly file the PI-1206 Homeschool Report and retain copies for your records permanently.
- Adhere to the law.
Beyond those simple requirements, as the administrator of your Wisconsin homeschool you are free to educate your child according to your own principles and beliefs.
As the administrator of your Wisconsin homeschool…
875 Hours
…you determine what “counts” toward the statutorily required 875 hours of instruction to your family unit. Learn more…
Advanced Placement (AP), Accelerated, and CLEP Courses
…you determine whether to have your child take such courses. You are responsible for naming and describing your student’s coursework on their transcript, and whether to have your student pursue AP or CLEP credit.
Budget
…you are in charge of all budgeting and funding of your child’s education. Learn more…
College or Technical School Courses
…it is up to you to decide whether to allow your child to take courses from a college or technical school while enrolled in your homeschool. Learn more…
Credits, Grades, and Transcripts
…you determine if and how to allocate credits and assign grades for your child’s learning. Learn more…
Curriculum, Coursework, and Content
…you are free to choose your child’s curriculum. Some parents find a complete “boxed” curriculum to work best, while others see the world as their curriculum, and others fall somewhere in between. Learn more…
Diploma and Transcript
…it is your responsibility to decide what requirements must be met for graduation. You can then award a diploma to and produce a transcript for a child who has met those requirements. Learn more…
Educational Goals
…you are free to determine the educational goals for your homeschool. Some parents find it helpful to establish clear, measurable goals, while others take a holistic, intangible approach.
Enrichment Courses and Activities
…you may choose whether to include group classes, field trips, co-ops, and other activities as part of your child’s education. Wisconsin law states, “An instructional program provided to more than one family unit does not constitute a home-based private educational program.” WHPA maintains that activities with children from “more than one family unit” may not hold up as instructional hours in a home-based private educational program if these hours were challenged in court or through the legal system. Therefore, WHPA recommends that homeschooling families NOT include such activities in the fulfilment of their 875 required minimum hours of instruction, but rather as enrichment activities. Learn more…
Grade Levels
…it is up to you whether or not to use traditional grade levels in your homeschool. On the PI-1206 Homeschool Report, you are required to report the number of male and female children in your homeschool EITHER by grade level OR as “ungraded” 1-8 and “ungraded” 9-12. Choosing to report your children by grade level or as ungraded has no bearing on anything else. Learn more…
Graduation Requirements
…you are free, under the law, to establish the graduation requirements for your homeschool. Wisconsin homeschools are not subject to any statutory graduation requirements. Learn more…
Methods and Styles
…it is up to you what homeschooling methods and style, if any, you adopt. Learn more…
Naming Your Homeschool
…it is your choice whether or not to name your homeschool. Some families find it to be empowering and helpful when filling out forms for education discounts and other programs. Other families see no need.
Public School Courses, Sports, and Extracurricular Activities
…you are allowed, by law, to enroll your homeschooled child in up to 2 courses at a public school each semester if the school board determines that there is sufficient space. Likewise, your child may participate in interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities at public school. Learn more…
Record-keeping
…you are in charge of the records for your child’s time in your homeschool. You DO need to keep your records permanently. You are not required by law to share those records with anyone, but your child will likely need them in the future and only you will have them. Learn more…
Schedule, Hours, and Attendance
…you determine your homeschool’s yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily schedules and hours. WHPA recommends that you keep an attendance record for your homeschool. Learn more…
Special or Shared Services
…you are responsible for providing special services for your child if you deem it necessary. Homeschooled students are entitled under federal law to disability assessment by their public school district at no charge. Learn more…
Start and End Dates, Vacations, and Holidays
…you determine your homeschool’s start and end dates, vacations, and holidays. All schools in the state, including homeschools, report their enrollment as of the third Friday in September, regardless of their school’s schedule or calendar. Learn more…
Testing (Standardized)
…it is your choice whether to utilize standardized tests in your homeschool. Standardized testing is not required for homeschools in Wisconsin. Learn more…
Traditions, Routines, and Milestones
…you are free to create the traditions and routines that are meaningful to you and your family. Some homeschooling families enjoy marking milestones with yearbooks and awards and graduations and portraits. While other homeschooling families enjoy the freedom of not having to do any of those things.
Traveling
…you are free to provide your child’s education whenever and wherever you choose. Homeschooling laws are determined by the state, so where you live determines what state’s homeschooling law applies to you.
Tutors
…you determine whether or not to hire a tutor for your child. Learn more…
