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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in Wisconsin

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in Wisconsin, step by step: what to file first, what to tell the school, and a letter to print.

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Wisconsin's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.

Step by step

  1. Before your child's last day, do what Wisconsin asks of a new homeschool. By October 15: File the online PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report with the Department of Public Instruction. The state's form: PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report (online, DPI).Source: Wis. Stat. 115.30, reports to the department (Wisconsin Legislature); DPI: Home-Based Private Education Program (Homeschooling)
  2. Tell the school. We did not find a Wisconsin rule on how to tell the school. A short dated letter, with a copy kept, gives you a record of the day your child left.
  3. Ask for your child's records (report cards, test results, any evaluations or plans) so you know where your child stands. Good practice, not a legal step.
  4. If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, ask the district before you leave what, if anything, it offers homeschooled students, and get a copy of the plan. Good practice, not a legal step.
  5. Keep copies of everything you send and anything you get back, with the dates. Good practice, not a legal step.
  6. Start your records on day one. The law asks for no instruction records. DPI says the statutes give no agency or school district authority to monitor home programs or verify the hours, but recommends keeping records of the instruction, which employers, the military and colleges may ask for later. DPI says it is the parent's responsibility to keep copies of the submitted PI-1206 forms; DPI keeps them for seven years.Source: DPI: Home-Based Private Education Program (Homeschooling)

What Wisconsin's law or education agency says about leaving school

If you stop homeschooling and enroll your child in a public or private school, DPI says to go back into the online PI-1206 report and reduce the number of children enrolled in the homeschool program (to zero if none). The receiving school decides grade placement and any credits for homeschool coursework.

A letter to the school

Fill this in and print it. It tells the school your child is leaving to be taught at home and asks for the records. It is not the state's notice.

For example a copy of your notice, or the acknowledgement the state sent you.

Nothing you type here is saved or sent.

Your letter

________________

To: ________________

I am withdrawing ________________ from your school. My child will be educated at home under the law of Wisconsin.

Please send me a copy of my child's school records.

Thank you.

SignatureDate
Keep a copy with the date you handed it in or mailed it.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.