Title 17 — Education

This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Guam Academy Charter School Act of 2009.”

The Guam Academy Charter School Act of 2009 is enacted to provide opportunities for teachers, parents, guardians, students and community members to establish and maintain schools that operate independently from the Department of Education as a method to: (a) improve student learn…

(a) “Board” means the Guam Education Policy Board; (b) “Academy Charter School” means schools acknowledged as Charter schools by the Guam Academy Charter Schools Council under Chapter 12 of Title 17 GCA; (c) “Chamorro Language Immersion Program” is a method of teaching the Chamor…

(a) Private, religious schools shall be eligible to apply to convert to an Academy Charter School under this Chapter. (b) Existing public or private school. An eligible applicant seeking to convert a public or private school into an Academy Charter School: (1) shall prepare a pet…

A petition under § 12104 of this Chapter to establish an Academy Charter School shall include the following: (a) a statement defining the mission and goals of the proposed Academy Charter School and the manner in which the Academy Charter School will conduct any district-wide ass…

(a) Schedule. An eligible applicant seeking to establish an Academy Charter School shall submit a petition pursuant to § 12105 of this Chapter to the Council no later than the first Monday of August. However, it is recommended that an eligible applicant consult with the Council p…

(a) An Academy Charter School shall comply with all of the terms and provisions of its Charter. (b) An Academy Charter School shall be subject to all federal and state laws and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race creed, color, gen…

(a) There is established the Board of Trustees. The Trustees of an Academy Charter School shall be elected or selected pursuant to the Charter granted to the Academy Charter School. The Board of Trustees shall consist of not less than five (5) members and not more than nine (9) m…

(a) An Academy Charter School shall enroll all students who submit a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level or building. An Academy Charter School shall give enrollment preference to students returning to the Ac…

(a) An employee of an Academy Charter School who transferred from the Department of Education shall be considered to be on three (3) years leave of absence from the Department of Education. The leave of absence shall commence on the initial date of employment at the Charter Schoo…

(a) There is established the Guam Academy Charter Schools Council. The Council shall consist of seven (7) voting members, and shall include: (1) one (1) retired teacher; COL 2025-12-23 (2) one (1) retired school administrator; (3) two (2) members with accounting or finance backgr…

(a) The Council: (1) may grant Academy School Charter status to qualifying applicants pursuant to this Chapter; (2) shall monitor the operations of each Academy Charter School; (3) shall monitor that each such Academy Charter School complies with applicable laws and the provision…

(a) A Charter granted to an Academy Charter School shall remain in force for a six (6) year period, unless revoked as authorized in § 12114 of this Chapter. (b) A Charter may be renewed an unlimited number of times, each time for a six (6) year period. (c) The Council shall revie…

(a) The Council shall place an Academy Charter School on probation or revoke the Academy Charter School’s Charter if the Council determines that the Academy Charter School: (1) committed a violation of applicable law or material violation of the conditions, terms, standards, or p…

(a) The Appeals Board, upon receipt of a notice of appeal, shall review the decision of the Council. (b) An eligible applicant or the Trustees of an Academy Charter School that wishes to appeal a decision of the Council concerning the denial, nonrenewal or revocation of an Academ…

(a) The Trustees, in consultation with teachers and administrators, shall determine the school's curriculum and develop the school’s annual budget. The Trustees of each Charter School shall submit to the Council a copy of its budget for each fiscal year. (b) The Council shall sub…

Students attending an Academy Charter School shall be provided transportation to the Charter School by the Department of Public Works on the same terms and conditions as transportation is provided to children attending other public schools. In providing such transportation, the D…

If a student who was previously enrolled in an Academy Charter School enrolls in a public school, the public school shall accept credits earned by the student in courses or instructional programs at the Academy Charter School in a uniform and consistent manner and according to th…

There is hereby created, separate and apart from other funds of the government of Guam, a fund known as the “Guam Academy Charter School Fund” (Fund). The Fund shall not be commingled with any other fund, and shall be kept in a separate bank account and administered by the Depart…

[Repealed.] SOURCE: Added by P.L. 29-140:1 (Jan. 30, 2009). Repealed by P.L. 30-176:17 (July 16, 2010). 2023 NOTE: Prior to its repeal, this untitled provision stated, in its entirety: “All provisions of this Act shall expire on July 1, 2018, unless reenacted by I Liheslaturan Gu…

The Guam Academy Charter Schools Council shall recommend changes to this Act to I Liheslatura within thirty (30) days of its first meeting at which a quorum is present. COL 2025-12-23 ---------- COL 2025-12-23