A homeschooling parent must provide her children with 875 hours of instruction per year. These hours do not have to be spent learning from a textbook. You can take your child to museums, performances, the library or on other outings as you see fit. The instruction also does not have to follow the typical school year. You can choose to teach September through June with winter and spring breaks, or you can teach year-round using activities and teaching moments as you see fit.
You must provide an educational plan for your children to learn the basic skills or to add onto skills a child has already learned. Homeschooling parents can fulfill this by purchasing curricula, building their own, or using a combination of the two. There are many different homeschooling books available from your local library or through online retailers.
Wisconsin homeschooling parents are not required to follow a state set curriculum. Children who are homeschooled do not have to take state-mandated tests. A parent can choose to have his child take these tests if he chooses. Parents are also not obligated to have school officials review their child's curriculum or progress reports.
Each parent must fill out a PI-1206 form each year homeschooling occurs. This form must be submitted before a child can be pulled out of public school, or by October 15 on the year you began homeschooling at the beginning of the school year. You will need to have the form sent to you, as it is a three-part form. To have the PI-1206 sent contact:
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
P. O. Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
888-245-2732
Under Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.165. The parent must state the following criteria are met: that the "primary purpose of your program is to provide private or religious-based schooling"; "The program is privately controlled"; you provide at least 875 hours of instruction; "Provides sequentially progressive curriculum"; and the program is not intended to get around the compulsory attendance law.