“Where do the dates come from for the PI-1206 Homeschool Report?”

WHPA is often asked this question. The short answer is: October 15 has been the filing due date for Wisconsin enrollment reports since 1959, and the report has asked for the enrollment as of the 3rd Friday of September since 1967. 

Since this is a perennial question, we would like to share some of the legislative history of where these dates came from. 

Prior to 1953, enrollment reporting was a part of the school census process, and there were no set filing dates or deadlines. Beginning in 1953, Wis Stat 39.025 (renumbered from 40.72(3) with 1953 Wisconsin Act 90) stated:

“The state superintendent may require the boards of all school districts to report to him the name of the school and its location, the name and address of the teachers, the number of months of school maintained during the year, the opening and closing dates, the names and ages of all pupils enrolled between the ages of 7 and 18, the names and post-office addresses and places of residence of the parents of such pupils, the number of the district and the distance such pupils reside from the schoolhouse, the number of days each pupil was present during each month, and any other information requested by him. The superintendent shall furnish report forms.” 

1959 Wisconsin Act 286 (approved August 11, 1959) created the first statute in regards to specifically reporting enrollment and setting reporting dates (Wis Stat 39.027):

“On or before October 15, 1959, and annually thereafter each administrator of a public or private school system shall submit, on forms provided, a statement of the enrollment on October 1 in the elementary and secondary schools under his jurisdiction to the department of public instruction which shall promptly prepare such reports as will enable both the public and private schools to make essential projections as to problems such as school buildings, teacher supply and funds required. The data shall be available to the public during regular office hours.”

Note that under this original statute, the report was to include a statement of enrollment as of October 1. 

This statute was in effect until 1967, when 1967 Wisconsin Act 92 (approved July 27, 1967) was enacted, and included renumbering the statute from Wis Stat 39.027 to the current Wis Stat 115.30(3) and moving the statement of enrollment date from October 1 to the 3rd Friday in September:

“On or before each October 15, each administrator of a public or private school system shall submit, on forms provided by the state superintendent, a statement of the enrollment on the 3rd Friday of September in the elementary and high school grades under his jurisdiction to the state superintendent who shall prepare such reports as will enable the public and private schools to make projections regarding school buildings, teacher supply and funds required.”

1969 Wisconsin Act 276 (published December 27, 1969) incorporated a small wording change from “state superintendent” to “department,” and this statute remained in effect until 1984, when our homeschooling law, 1983 Wisconsin Act 512, was enacted on May 10, 1984, which included updating this statute (Wis Stat 115.30(3)) to include home-based private educational programs (homeschools), and remains in effect today:

“On or before each October 15, each administrator of a public or private school system or a home-based private educational program shall submit, on forms provided by the department, a statement of the enrollment on the 3rd Friday of September in the elementary and high school grades under his or her jurisdiction to the department which shall prepare such reports as will enable the public and private schools and home-based private educational programs to make projections regarding school buildings, teacher supply and funds required. The administrator of each private school system and home-based private educational program shall indicate in his or her report whether the system or program meets all of the criteria under s. 118.165 (1).”

Because homeschools, public schools, and private schools are on the same legal footing, these dates apply to each kind of school.