Get to know Wisconsin homeschool law. You are responsible for clearly understanding what the law requires, what it doesn’t require, and what it allows and does not allow. No one else will make sure your rights are respected and protected; you have to take responsibility for them. Have a copy of the homeschooling statute available for reference when you need it. Don’t rely on school officials or the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for information about statutes, regulations, or what is required. They sometimes do not know, misunderstand, have been misinformed, or have purposely misconstrued what the statutes or regulations say. Be careful about information from organizations, books, websites, or social media pages and groups that cover the laws in all 50 states. They sometimes provide only the text of the statutes without essential information about how they are interpreted and enforced, or interpret the law of one state through their experience with the law in another state, oftentimes ending up with an incorrect or inaccurate interpretation.

When interacting with government agents and agencies, do only the minimum the law requires. When people do otherwise, they voluntarily and unnecessarily increase the power and authority that public officials have over homeschoolers. They set precedents that limit their freedoms and those of other homeschoolers. For example if a school official asks or tells you to do more than is required, politely refuse and explain what is and is not required. If they persist, ask them to show you the statute or regulation that gives them the authority to make such a request. WHPA provides helpful templates for addressing the most common unnecessary requests.

Occasionally, it may be tempting to take what seems like the easy way out and do more than the minimum by showing officials things such as our curriculum, school calendars, samples of our children’s work, or test scores, even though these are not required by statute in Wisconsin. Perhaps we are proud of our children’s accomplishments or want to educate officials about homeschooling or show them how well it works. But any action that exceeds statutes or regulations sets a precedent and is likely to increase demands officials make of us and other homeschoolers in the future. It may also increase the questions, doubts, concerns, and criticisms that officials have about our homeschooling.

Under Wisconsin law, Home Based Private Educational Programs, or homeschools, are private, independent programs of education. Only parents or legal guardians can establish a homeschool, and their homeschool must only serve their own children. These homeschooling parents take full and direct responsibility for and control of their children’s education.

By contrast, parents or legal guardians who enroll their children in a public, private, or tribal school, are not homeschooling and do not have full and direct responsibility for, nor control of, their children’s education.

These distinct types of school hold whether a student is learning at home or in a school building. It is important to remember that, for example, a virtual private school student learning at home is not a homeschool student. Even when learning at home, that student is enrolled in a Wisconsin-based public or private school and not a homeschool.

Protecting, upholding, and respecting this clear legal distinction protects homeschoolers rights and freedoms.

Major freedoms are often lost one small step at a time. Our failure to respond also encourages those who are limiting our freedoms to continue to erode our rights.

For example, suppose a school district requires that homeschoolers submit their curriculum for review and approval, something not required by Wisconsin statutes. If homeschoolers do not object, before long the district may also ask for such things as periodic reports or test results. Soon it may be assumed that all homeschoolers must meet this requirement. Another example is when school districts ask families to file their PI-1206 Homeschool Report early. When families comply with such requests, then filing early becomes both expected and required. On the other hand, if homeschoolers object strongly the first time the district exceeds its authority (either by mistake or deliberately) , school officials will probably be more reluctant to ask in other ways for more than the law requires. This reduces future, perhaps more serious, challenges.

Some people think that homeschoolers shouldn’t complain about requirements like review and approval of curriculum, reporting, or testing as long as no one declares that homeschooling is illegal. This greatly underestimates the importance of choosing an approach to education and a curriculum, allowing children to pursue their interests and learn at their own pace, and offering our children an education consistent with our principles and beliefs rather than those of the public school system. Our unique state law was drafted specifically to protect our right to choose among all types of independent, parent-led homeschooling.

Homeschooling under Wisconsin law is truly a nonpartisan issue. Because WHPA founders worked so hard to carefully craft our law to include all homeschoolers, upholding our long-standing, reasonable law is possible without playing partisan politics.

Get to know your state and federal legislators at the beginning of each new legislative session. Establish communication before there is a crisis. One strategy is to start with an issue you and your legislator agree about, no matter how minor. Most importantly, let your legislators know that you are a homeschooling family in Wisconsin and that our long-standing, reasonable law works and should not be changed. The message that you do not want anything from your legislator is often a welcome one.

Work with WHPA to communicate clearly with legislators. Watch for and act on information about current events. Follow WHPA’s model for speaking clearly and inclusively with legislators about our homeschooling rights.

Do not seek or accept benefits from the government, including public funds for homeschooling, tax deductions, tax credits, vouchers, participating in public school programs, sports, or extracurricular activities, or having public school per pupil money allocated to a child for homeschooling expenses. It is tempting to think about benefits for children or money for more homeschooling resources, especially because most homeschooling families give up income or make other financial sacrifices so parents can spend more time with their children.

However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Such benefits are very likely to be followed by increased regulation, because the government is accountable for how tax dollars are spent.

Even benefits that are popular with some homeschoolers have opened the door for increased regulation of homeschooling. For example, reports from homeschoolers who have chosen to play public school sports show that some schools are asking for things that are not legally required of homeschoolers, such as curriculum, detailed school schedules, grades, and health records.

Regulation stemming from favors or benefits would undoubtedly apply to all homeschoolers, not just those accepting the benefits. Families would not have the option of refusing the benefit and avoiding the increased regulation.

It’s important for homeschoolers to resist the temptation to seek benefits or favors from the government, to refuse such benefits if they are offered, to make it clear to legislators that they do not want such benefits, and to encourage other homeschoolers to do these things as well.

Wisconsin’s long-standing, reasonable homeschooling law already works. New legislation is not needed, and is more likely to violate or restrict our rights than to increase or protect them.

Small minorities generally have difficulty getting legislation passed. In addition, once a bill has been introduced, it is very difficult to control. It can be changed so much through amendments that it actually ends up working against the minority that introduced it rather than in their favor.

It is easier for a very small minority like homeschoolers to gain support from non-homeschoolers when we are a beleaguered minority being put upon by a large interest group like public school officials or a teachers union than to find support for legislation we initiated ourselves. This is why we would be unlikely to succeed in getting favorable homeschooling legislation passed if we initiated it.

Most importantly since we have one of the best laws in the county, we don’t need additional legislation.

It is almost always better for homeschoolers to try to reach settlements through negotiation or arbitration than to take cases to court. Rulings in court cases having to do with any topic, not just homeschooling, generally uphold the status quo and support the dominant culture. This means that rulings concerning small minorities such as homeschoolers tend to be biased in favor of conventional education rather than alternatives. We are much better off without any court rulings than with rulings that go against us. Evidence to support this idea can be found in a 1990 report by Jane Henkel of the Wisconsin Legislative Council titled, “Recent Court Cases Examining the Constitutionality of Other States’ Laws Regulating Home Schools.” Her report showed that court cases uphold the constitutionality of increased state regulation of homeschooling. The report states, “Special care was taken to attempt to find reported cases striking down state regulations. With the limited exception of cases which found regulations to be unconstitutionally vague, that effort was unsuccessful, which tends to indicate that there are few, if any, such cases.” The cases having to do with the most substantive aspects of regulation, namely review and approval of curriculum, required testing, and periodic reporting, have not been overturned in courts and still hold true as regulatory constraints on homeschooling liberties in the states where the cases were heard and more generally in most states.

Remember and remind school officials and others that the law requires that young people attend school, but it does not require that they receive an education while doing so. Therefore, it is discriminatory for school officials, judges, court commissioners, and others to insist that homeschoolers meet goals, standards, and requirements which are not required under Wisconsin law.

Remember that your actions affect other homeschoolers’ freedoms, now and in the future.

Share these principles with other homeschoolers. Some of homeschooling’s greatest strengths come from the fact that it is a grassroots movement. It becomes even stronger as we communicate with each other, share information and experiences, support each other, and work together to maintain our freedoms. On the other hand, our freedoms are at risk when individual homeschoolers or homeschooling organizations fail to understand what Wisconsin’s homeschooling law does and does not require, do more than the minimum the law requires, try to splinter into homeschooling factions, blur the distinction between homeschoolers and public and private school students studying in their homes, confuse parental and institutional rights, seek homeschooling legislation and money and other favors from the government, and take cases to court when there are other ways to resolve the issues.

Joining WHPA is an excellent way to work with other homeschoolers. WHPA is strong because it includes all homeschoolers, regardless of their approach to learning, homeschooling, lifestyle, philosophy, politics, or religious beliefs. WHPA is strong because it relies on people like you knowing their rights and responsibilities. Our homeschooling freedoms depend on our working together. Renew your membership; tell others about WHPA; donate; and attend the annual conference and resource fair. Also consider joining a local homeschooling support group. If none exists in your area, start one.