Homeschooling a Child With Autism or ADHD in Wisconsin

What Wisconsin asks of a homeschool family

These are the homeschool rules we have on file for Wisconsin, last verified 2026-08. Our Wisconsin page has the full list, with sources.

Getting started (notice)

the PI-1206 homeschool enrolment report, filed online with the Department of Public Instruction by October 15 each school year. It is a report, not an application: neither the department nor your district has authority to approve or deny your programme.

Records you must keep

kept by you. The PI-1206 sample form is explicitly for your records and is not mailed in.

Testing / evaluation

none required.

Special education and your homeschooled child in Wisconsin

We researched this from Wisconsin's statutes and administrative code, the state education department and the US Department of Education, last checked October 2026. Where a source was missing, old or in conflict, the line says so instead of guessing. Federal law (IDEA) gives a child placed in private school by a parent no individual right to services, only a share of the district's equitable-services funds, and each state decides how a home school is counted.

How the state counts a home school

Its own category, not a private school

A home-based private educational program under Wis. Stat. 118.15(4) and 118.165(1) is its own category; DPI Information Update Bulletin 06.03 says the federal parentally placed private school provisions do not apply to these programs because 'a home-based private educational program is not a private school'.

Asking for an evaluation

Any person may refer a child to the school district for a special education evaluation (Wis. Stat. 115.777(1)(c)), and the district must send a request for consent to evaluate within 15 business days (115.777(3)(e)). DPI's 2020 home-based program FAQ says districts must identify and evaluate all children in the district who may have a disability and that a homeschooling parent who suspects one can request an evaluation.

Services and IEPs

DPI's 2020 FAQ says districts are not required to provide special education and related services to children in home-based programs, but may provide whatever they deem appropriate; if a child is found to have a disability, the district must offer a placement, generally enrollment in public school. Whether an existing IEP continues after withdrawal: not found in primary sources.

Part-time classes, therapies and activities at the public school

Wis. Stat. 118.53(3) requires a school board to let a home-based pupil take up to two courses per semester if there is classroom space, and the DPI FAQ says districts must allow interscholastic athletics, and may allow other extracurricular activities, on the same basis as enrolled pupils (2015 Act 55), with fees possible. Speech, occupational or physical therapy as a part-time service: not found in primary sources.

Scholarships and funding for a child with a disability

Wisconsin's Special Needs Scholarship (Wis. Stat. 115.7915; Wis. Admin. Code ch. PI 49) is for a private school, and PI 49 bars a participating pupil from being simultaneously enrolled in a home-based private educational program, so a child cannot use it while homeschooled. DPI's FAQ says there is no publicly funded financial assistance for homeschooling families.

Also worth knowing

DPI's FAQ says no state testing is required for home-based programs, and parents file an annual enrollment report (form PI-1206) with DPI; the FAQ is dated December 2020, so these details should be rechecked with DPI.

State office to ask: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Special Education Team.

Sources we read

A plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice. Scholarship and school-choice programs change often, and we have left dollar amounts out on purpose. Confirm current rules with the state office before you act.

Pace, testing and the plan

Check the testing and evaluation line above for Wisconsin, since it can depend on how you homeschool. Where a test or an evaluation applies, remember that Learning Supports change how lessons look and feel while your child learns. They are not part of a test or an evaluation. Whether a child can be given accommodations on the test, or with the evaluator, is something to ask the test provider or evaluator before the day, and we cannot tell you what Wisconsin allows.

Records in Wisconsin

Check the records line above for Wisconsin. Letters & Devotion logs instructional hours automatically while your child works, tracks mastery per skill as a ready-made portfolio record, and prints a transcript in one click. Turning supports on or off does not change that record, and nothing in it names a condition, because Letters & Devotion never stores a diagnosis.

Six Learning Supports you can switch on

A parent ticks what helps, never a condition. Each support is a bundle of single switches, and any switch can be changed on its own. After about three weeks the parent side asks whether a support is helping.

Reading support
Often chosen for dyslexia
Read-aloud with each word highlighted, a clearer font, extra spacing and answer buttons.
Focus support
Often chosen for ADHD
Short pieces, one question on screen and movement breaks.
Predictable routine
Often chosen for autism
The same layout, a heads-up before changes, a calm look and plain wording.
Math support
Often chosen for dyscalculia
Pictures and a calculator, with nothing timed.
Writing support
Often chosen for dysgraphia
Answer out loud, with ideas counted over spelling.
Low-pressure mode
Often chosen for anxiety or perfectionism
No scores, calm feedback and a free second try.

What this is not

It does not diagnose anything or store a diagnosis. Your child never sees a condition name.
It is not special education, therapy or an evaluation, and it is not a substitute for an IEP.
Read-aloud is a computer voice, not a person, and answering out loud needs the microphone switch.
Some lesson rewrites, such as plainer literal wording, are pre-written, so not every lesson has one.

Try it with your child in Wisconsin

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Questions

Can I homeschool a child with autism or ADHD in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's homeschool rules are summarized on this page. On special education: A home-based private educational program under Wis. Stat. 118.15(4) and 118.165(1) is its own category; DPI Information Update Bulletin 06.03 says the federal parentally placed private school provisions do not apply to these programs because 'a home-based private educational program is not a private school'. Any person may refer a child to the school district for a special education evaluation (Wis. Stat. 115.777(1)(c)), and the district must send a request for consent to evaluate within 15 business days (115.777(3)(e)). DPI's 2020 home-based program FAQ says districts must identify and evaluate all children in the district who may have a disability and that a homeschooling parent who suspects one can request an evaluation.

Does Letters & Devotion store my child’s diagnosis?

No. You pick supports, never a condition, nothing stores a diagnosis, and your child never sees a condition name. Support settings are never sent to analytics.

Does this replace an evaluation or an IEP?

No. The setup screen says it plainly: these change how lessons look and feel, and they are not a substitute for an evaluation or an IEP.

Do the supports work with Wisconsin's testing rules?