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GETTING STARTED WITH HOMESCHOOL!

So you want to homeschool?

To begin homeschooling at the beginning of the school year.....

Request a PI-1206 Form from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction by calling 1-888-245-2732 ext.1, and using their automated system.  (This is a 3-part carbon form, so you cannot just download it from the internet).  You do NOT have to inform your school district or school regarding your intentions when beginning to homeschool at the START of the year.  If they send you a registration form, just return it with the statement that your child will not be returning for the 2005-2006 school year.  Next summer, the DPI will automatically send you another PI-1206 for the following year; you will not need to phone in your request again.

The following is from Home School Legal Defense Association:

 

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s website, under the “Frequently Asked Questions” section, explains “What is a home-based private education?” by referring to several sections from Wisconsin statutes. The last paragraph of the answer states:
“Wisconsin Statute 118.15(1) (a) states ‘… any person having under control a child who is between the ages of 6 and 18 years shall cause the child to attend school regularly during the full period and hours, religious holidays excepted, that the public or private school in which the child should be enrolled is in session until the end of the school term, quarter or semester of the school year in which the child becomes 18 years of age.’ ”
In reading this paragraph, the website makes it appear that the law requires those within a home-based private educational program in Wisconsin to teach during the full period and during the same hours as the conventional public or private school the homeschooled child might otherwise be enrolled in.
However, an important part of the statute is missing in the above paragraph. The section actually begins: “Except as provided under pars. (b) to (d) and sub. (4)…“ Subdivision (4) of Wisconsin Statute 118.15 is “Instruction in a home-based private educational program...” Therefore, the statute which requires a child to attend during regular school hours and days, does not actually apply to those in a home-based private educational program.
Home School Legal Defense Association realizes that this distinction is very important because it allows flexibility to those in a home-based private educational program.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Chris Klicka wrote a letter to the Department of Instruction requesting that the offensive paragraph be removed from their explanation of what a home-based private education al program is. He explained that the statute does not apply to these homeschoolers and it gives an inaccurate portrayal of Wisconsin’s requirements.
HSLDA expects the paragraph to be removed soon.

To remove your child from school during the school year....

First, request a PI-1206 Form from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction by calling 1-888-245-2731, extension 1, and using their automated system.  (This is a 3-part carbon form, so you cannot just download it from the internet).  Mail this form to Wisconsin DPI by registered return receipt mail.  Only after you have received the receipt indicating the state has received it, you are free to remove your child from school without threat of truancy charges.  The state will eventually be sending a copy of that form to your local school district, but you do NOT need to wait until your local school district has received their copy before removing your child from school (that is why the returned receipt mail method is important---to verify that the PI-1206 form has been received in Madison).  It would be prudent, however, to send a letter to your child's school pricipal.  See "Sample Removal Letter" on this web site by clicking the link on your left.  Inform the school of the child's last date of attendance.  Begin homeschooling the next day!!

Note:  The above process takes time---sometimes up to 2 weeks.  In emergency situations, contact WPA (WisconsinParents Association---state homeschool advocacy group moreinformation is available on their web site: www.homeschooling-wpa.org ) at 608-283-3131.  They have extra copies of the PI-1206 form and can sometimes get it sent out to you sooner than you would receive it from Madison.  In extreme situations, we have even heard that you can drive down to Madison, show up at the DPI office, and fill out and return the form as you stand there---thereby allowing you to remove your child from school the next day!