(Last Updated August 23, 2017)

Private Schools

Accreditation, Registration, Licensing, and Approval

• Accreditation: no requirements
• Registration: no requirements
• Licensing: no requirements
• Approval: no requirements

Teacher Certification

• “Teachers in the private schools on Guam may apply for and receive teaching certificates on the same terms and conditions as are required of teachers in the public schools, provided that the Board may not require for such teachers that they hold such certificates before they accept or continue employment in the private schools.” Guam Board of Education Policy 1000.131.1.

Length of School Year and Days

• No territory policy currently exists.

Curriculum

• “The Board of Education shall provide a policy for the part-time limited attendance of nonpublic school students in public schools for the purpose of exposing said students to specific subjects not generally available in the nonpublic schools.” 17 Guam Code Annotated (Ann.) §4112.

Recordkeeping and Reports

• No territory policy currently exists.

Health and Safety Requirements

• No territory policy currently exists.

Transportation

• No territory policy currently exists.

Textbooks

• The Guam District Boards of Education must provide textbooks for students in private elementary and secondary schools in Guam without charge. The schools will request the textbooks from among those adopted and approved by the Textbook Selection Committee and the Territorial District Boards of Education. 17 Guam Code Ann. §4106 (c)
• Private schools may request that textbooks and resources adopted by the Guam Education Policy Board for use in the Guam Department of Education be made available to them. Guam Board of Education Policy 601.
• Private school students are financially responsible for damage beyond normal wear and tear and for lost textbooks. Schools will publish the fee schedule laid out in Guam Board of Education Policy 601 in their student and parent handbooks. Guam Board of Education Policy 601.

Special Education

• Students attending nonpublic schools may be furnished with a program of auxiliary services defined in 17 Guam Code Ann. § 6301, including the following: speech and hearing diagnostic services; diagnostic psychological services; therapeutic, psychological, and speech and hearing services; guidance and counseling services; remedial services; and programs for children with disabilities. Auxiliary services related to special education will be administered in a manner consistent with Guam and federal laws, rules, and regulations for special education services. 17 Guam Code Ann. §6302.

Testing

• Students attending nonpublic schools may be furnished with a program of auxiliary services defined in 17 Guam Code Ann. §6301, including standardized testing and scoring services used in public schools. 17 Guam Code Ann. §6302.

Nursing and Health

• No territory policy currently exists.

Technology

• No territory policy currently exists.

Professional Development

• No territory policy currently exists.

Reimbursement for Performing State and Local Functions

• No territory policy currently exists.

Tax Exemption

• No territory policy currently exists.

Public Aid for Private Education

• Constitutional Provisions: No constitutional policies currently exist.
• Programs for Financial Assistance for Attendance at Private Schools: No such programs currently exist.

Nonpublic School Advisory Committee

• No territory policy currently exists.

Home Schools

Home Education Programs

• Children not attending a private full-time day school and who are instructed by a private tutor or other person as required by 17 Guam Code Ann. §6109, are exempt from attending public schools. 17 Guam Code Ann. §6109.

Initial and Renewal Applications

• No territory policy currently exists.

Curriculum and Instruction

• Homeschooled children are to be instructed in the same several branches of study that are required in Guam’s public schools, and are to be instructed in the English language. 17 Guam Code Ann. §6109.
• Homeschooled children are required to be instructed for at least three hours a day for 170 days each calendar year. 17 Guam Code Ann. §6109.

Assessment and Diplomas

• No territory policy currently exists.

Special Education

• No territory policy currently exists.

Public School Access

• It is the policy of the Guam Department of Education (Department) that students who do not attend public schools are not public school students in any matter. Consequently, the Department will not have any regulatory authority over these students, nor will these students be entitled to receive any of the services or academic recognitions and designations that the Department provides to public school students, except as required by federal or local laws and regulations. Guam Board of Education Policy 352.

 

Source: U.S. Department of Education, State Regulation of Private and Home Schools, Guam