NEW KINDERGARTEN LAW PASSED 9/17/09: It is now required to send your child to kindergarten to be able to start first grade. There still is no requirement for mandatory attendance for 5 year olds to attend school. This will only effect parents who sign up their child for kindergarten and then wish to start homeschooling or would like to keep their child home until they are 6 years old and place them in a public school for first grade. Parents will have to now get an exemption from the school district to send their child to first grade without going to a regular kindergarten. More information can be found on the Wisconsin Parent Association (WPA) Website and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Website.
Recommendation for when to electronically file According to the WPA. You should wait until October to file, here is what the WPA says about filing DPI form in their guide: Homeschooling in Wisconsin: at home with learning (sixth revised edition): "If, like most homeschooling families, you have not enrolled your children in a public school or a private school that is not a homeschool for the current academic year, you should not electronically file until early October, on or before October 15. WPA encourages you not to electronically file the form before October for two reasons. First, public and other private schools in Wisconsin base their reports on enrollment as of the third Friday in September and file their forms on October 15. Since homeschools are private schools, we follow this requirement. Doing so reminds school officials that we are sending the form to report enrollment. Second, complying with more than the minimum requirements of the law encourages public officials to increase requirements and exceed their legal authority. School officials sometimes pressure homeschoolers who have not enrolled their children in a public school for the current academic year to file the form before October 15. The date on which one files the form may seem like a small point, but waiting until early October sets a pattern of taking responsibility for complying with the law since the primary purpose of the form is to report school enrollment as of the third Friday in September."For more detailed information about home school legislation and issues please visit WPA's website. HOMESCHOOL REQUIREMENTS: Required Days of Instruction: “at least 875 hours of instruction each school year.” Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.15(4), § 118.165(c). Required Subjects: Reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and health. Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.165(d). Home School Statute: Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.15(4), § 118.165(1). 1. Definition: A “home-based private educational program” is a program of educational instruction provided to a child by the child‟s parent or guardian or by a person designated by the parent or guardian. An instructional program provided to more than one family is not a home-based private educational program. Wis. Stat. Ann. § 115.001(3g). However, a homeschooling parent can be “a person designated” by another parent to do the teaching for their student. In this case, however, the parents should still file a statement of enrollment (see #2 below) for their own children. 2. By October 15 each year the parents must submit a statement of enrollment to the Department of Public Instruction, indicating whether the home school meets all the requirements under Wis. Stat. Ann. § 118.165. Wis. Stat. Ann. § 115.30(3). Parents must use the PI-1206 Home-Based Private Educational Program Registration three-part form supplied by the Department of Public Instruction. 3. “Instruction in a home-based private educational program that meets all of the criteria under § 118.165(1) may be substituted for attendance at public or private school.” § 118.15(4). The § 118.165(1) criteria are: a. “primary purpose of the program is to provide private or religious-based education,” b. “the program is privately controlled,” c. the program provides at least 875 hours of instruction, d. the program “provides a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction” in the Required Subjects: (which “does not require the program to include in its curriculum any concept, topic or practice in conflict with the program‟s religious doctrines,” or exclude any such topic), and the program is not operated to circumvent the compulsory attendance law. Wisconsin WI-2 High School Requirements for Graduation: How do homeschoolers get high school diplomas?Because homeschools are private schools, they can award diplomas the same way other private schools do. Families decide what requirements must be met for graduation and award a diploma to young people who meet them. A young person with a homeschool diploma can check “Yes” on an employment application that asks, “Do you have a high school diploma?” Colleges do not expect homeschooled applicants to have conventional public high school diplomas. For more details, see the WPA handbook. HSLDA’s Homeschooling thru High School Website gives all kinds of high school information. They can help you develop a plan and set goals for high school and after. They are there to help! Members may contact HSLDA’s high school consultants for personal consultation. The free monthly high school email newsletter,
covers topics of interest for those teaching high school at home. To
subscribe or to view back issues of the newsletter go to the archives
on our high school website homepage. In addition, HSLDA’s magazine, Court Report, includes a high school-related article in each issue. For Professional High School Diplomas. Important Note: For every 120 hours for each credit (60 hours for .5) for self created unit studies in high school. Important Note: State Graduation requirements listed below are not
necessarily the best guideline for homeschoolers to use. They have been
included here as a guideline for what a typical public school student
would need to complete in order to graduate Wisconsin State High School Graduation Requirements
* 13 units includes .5 unit of health education which must be earned sometime in grades 7-12. In addition to the 12.5 units set forth to be earned during grades 9-12, "the state superintendent encourages boards to require a minimum of 8.5 additional credits in vocational education, foreign languages, fine arts and other courses" (for a total of 21 units, or 21.5, including the health unit to be completed between grades 7-12). 1. You have graduated from a recognized high school, or the equivalent. We encourage you to contact the Admissions Office for information regarding options for students who are home-schooled, have completed a high school equivalency program, or have other non-standard credentials. 414-229-1122 2. You have completed at least 17 credits (1 credit = 1 year) of required high school courses, as follows:
THIS ANALYSIS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE GIVING OF LEGAL ADVICE. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lastly, if you are not from Wisconsin here is a site with all the different state laws for your reference. As always you can email me with any information or comments and I will add it to the page. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Wisconsin State Homeschool Regulations |