What the New Law Means for Homeschoolers

Under the new law, what do parents need to do to homeschool their children for kindergarten?

The new law does NOT change the compulsory school attendance law. In other words, children will not have to attend school until the school year when they are six on or before September 1. Therefore, the new law does not change the current requirements for homeschooling a child for kindergarten.

(1) Parents of children who have not turned 6 by September 1 of the current school year simply educate their children at home. They are not currently required to file form PI-1206 or take any other official action and will not be required to when the new law takes effect in September, 2011. They should not notify their school district or take any other official action.

(2) Parents of the small minority of kindergarteners who have turned 6 by September 1 need to file form PI-1206 with the DPI just as other homeschooling parents do. (Form PI-1206 does not have a space for kindergarten, so these parents can check “1st” grade or “Ungraded 1-8.")

What if parents of a child who is currently enrolled in kindergarten decide that they want to begin homeschooling during the school year?

These parents must officially withdraw their child from school. If they do not, they may be charged with truancy under the new law. The age of their child determines whether they need to file PI-1206.

(1) If their child is among the vast majority of kindergarteners who had not turned 6 on or before September 1 of the current school year, the parents should not file form PI-1206 because their child is not yet of compulsory school age.

(2) If their child is one of the very small minority of kindergarteners who had turned 6 by September 1, they need to file a form PI-1206. (Because the vast majority of kindergarteners had not turned 6 by September 1, form PI-1206 does not have a space for kindergarten. Parents of such a child can check “1st” gradevor “Ungraded 1-8.”)

Because the compulsory school attendance law has not been changed and does not cover children who had not turned 6 on or before September 1, public school officials cannot legally investigate children who had not turned six by September 1 and who are not enrolled in kindergarten, including children whose parents withdrew them from kindergarten and are now homeschooling them.

What if parents who homeschooled their child for kindergarten want to enroll them in first grade in a public school?

Under the new law, these parents will need to get an exemption from the school board, something that should not be a major problem for the following reasons.

• The new law states that the school board “shall establish procedures, conditions, and standards for exempting a child from the requirement that the child complete kindergarten as a prerequisite to enrollment in the first grade.” WPA recommends that the parents find out what the school district requires as soon as they decide they want to enroll their child in first grade. It is important that parents not try to prove that their homeschools are just like public schools in terms of curriculum or in other ways. It is also important that parents not do more than the minimum required to gain the exemption. Doing more than the minimum sets precedents that may be difficult for other families to meet or for the family itself to meet in the future.

• Since 1984, parents have worked with their school districts to successfully enroll or re-enroll children they have homeschooled in the public schools. This long history will help smooth the way for parents and school districts to work this out.

• Each school district will make its own decisions, but in general, the fact that they receive on average $12,000 each year for every child who is enrolled in a public school. This gives school officials a financial incentive to work cooperatively with parents.

• Everyone benefits when children are placed in the appropriate grade. Children who are ready for first grade may be bored and perhaps disruptive if placed in kindergarten.

• It seems reasonable that whether a child had completed kindergarten would not be a factor in determining whether they would be allowed to enroll in second grade or higher.

Why is it important that the new law NOT exempt children who were homeschooled for kindergarten and now want to attend first grade in a public school from the requirement that they attend kindergarten?

Such an exemption would undermine our homeschooling freedoms. WPA worked to make sure that there was nothing in the kindergarten bill to do with homeschooling. School districts would not allow parents to walk in and say, “I homeschooled my child for kindergarten and they did well. Take my word for it and enroll them in first grade.” School districts would require that homeschoolers provide documentation to prove that they had homeschooled. This would set dangerous precedents by allowing the government to define homeschools, review and approve (or disapprove) curriculums for kindergarten, require that parents submit reports about their kindergartens for review and approval, etc. Public school officials in Wisconsin do not have this authority over homeschoolers at present, and it is very important that they not gain such authority, even for kindergarten.