How to Complete and File the Wisconsin PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report

Wisconsin parents file the PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report online through the Department of Public Instruction’s HOMER portal at sms.dpi.wi.gov/HomeSchoolParent, and the report is due by October 15 each school year.¹ Submitting it is what legally establishes your home as a “home-based private educational program” and satisfies compulsory attendance for every child on the report. Most families finish in 10 to 15 minutes once their information is on hand.

Who Has to File

Any parent or guardian in Wisconsin educating a child between the ages of 6 and 18 at home must submit a PI-1206 every school year.² A child who turns 6 on or before September 1 of the current school year must be included. Children who will not reach age 6 by that date do not need to be reported, even if they take part in your program.³

Do not include kindergarteners or preschool-age children. The form counts first grade through twelfth, plus an “ungraded” category for work that doesn’t line up with a single grade.

If you pull a child out of a public or private school after October 15, file the PI-1206 right away rather than waiting for next year’s cycle.³ The same goes for a family moving to Wisconsin mid-year with plans to homeschool. No school district can force you to file before October 15, but you are responsible for filing by that date or when you start your program, whichever is later.²

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Pull these together before you log in:

The name of the parent or guardian who will act as administrator and point of contact for the state.
Your mailing address. If that address is a P.O. box, you will also need the physical street address where instruction takes place.
An email address, which the system uses for your login ID and for the confirmation receipt after you file.
A count of students by grade (1st through 12th, or “ungraded”) and by male or female.
The school district where each student actually lives, not the last school they attended.

You do not submit curriculum, lesson plans, or test scores. Wisconsin does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students, and DPI does not review or approve what you teach. The PI-1206 is a notification, not an application for permission.

Filling Out the Form Online

The PI-1206 is filed entirely through DPI’s HOMER (Homeschool Enrollment Report) system at sms.dpi.wi.gov/HomeSchoolParent. There is no paper version.¹

Create Your Account

First-time filers set up a user ID and password. DPI suggests using your email address as the ID, but any username works. Save these credentials. You will need them to update the form during the year and to refile next year.

Enter Contact Information

Fill in the administrator’s name, mailing address, city, state, and zip code. For a P.O. box, check the box indicating the street address differs from the mailing address and enter your physical address separately.³

Enter Student Enrollment

The enrollment screen shows a grid of grade levels with male and female columns. Enter the number of children in each applicable box. If a child’s work spans grade levels or doesn’t match a single grade, use the “ungraded” rows: one for approximate grades 1 through 8, another for approximate grades 9 through 12. Leave all other boxes at zero.

Select Your Resident School District

Choose the district where your child physically lives from the drop-down. Once you submit, that resident district will have access to the report.

Sign the Affirmation

The final screen is a legal affirmation. You check a box certifying under Wis. Stat. 118.165(1) that your program meets each of the following:⁴

Its primary purpose is to provide private or religious-based education.
It is privately controlled, not run by a government entity.
It provides at least 875 hours of instruction per school year.⁵
It provides a sequentially progressive curriculum in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and health.⁴
It is not set up to avoid compulsory attendance requirements.
Students return home for at least two months of summer vacation, a formality for home-based programs since children already live at home.

“Sequentially progressive” means the curriculum builds on itself from year to year in each of the six subjects. DPI does not prescribe textbooks or methods, but instruction in each subject area must advance in scope across grade levels.⁵ The statute also protects religious programs: you are not required to include anything that conflicts with your religious doctrines, and you may include content consistent with them.

After You Submit

When you press submit, the system sends your data to DPI, displays a confirmation page, and emails an automated receipt to the address on file. Print the confirmation page or save it as a PDF right away. This document is your legal proof that you filed for the current school year.³ If a school district official or truancy officer ever asks whether your children are enrolled in an educational program, this is what you show them.

Keep these records for at least as long as you are homeschooling. Families claiming education-related tax deductions or credits should hold on to records for at least three years after filing the related tax return.

Updating Your Report

You can log back into HOMER and update your PI-1206 during the school year. Common reasons to update include adding a new child, correcting a grade-level entry, or changing your address after a move. Keep your user ID and password where you can find them. For login trouble or questions about the form, DPI’s homeschool support line is (800) 441-4563.

What Happens If You Don’t File

A child who is not enrolled in a public school, private school, or a properly filed home-based program is treated as absent without an excuse under Wisconsin’s compulsory attendance law. That triggers the truancy process. School districts follow an escalating series of steps under Wis. Stat. 118.16 before a case reaches court, and the consequences at the end of that road can include fines for the parent and court-supervised attendance orders for the child.⁶

Filing inaccurately carries its own risk. If you falsely affirm that your program meets the 118.165(1) criteria, for example by certifying 875 hours of instruction you are not actually providing, the program could lose its legal standing, and the children would again be subject to compulsory attendance enforcement. The simplest path is to file on time and run a program that genuinely meets the six criteria on the affirmation screen.

1
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. PI-1206 Homeschool Enrollment Report (HOMER) 2025-2026
2
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Wisconsin Home-Based Private Educational Program Frequently Asked Questions
3
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Home-Based Private Education Program (Homeschooling)
4
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 118.165(1) – Private School
5
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Wisconsin State Law Definition of a Private School
6
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Answers to Frequently Asked Compulsory School Attendance Questions