The Gakuen Satsu, meaning “Academy Note” is actually a voucher equivalent in value to the Kikyou Satsu, but can only be redeemed by certain businesses and institutions within Tsubomi which also provide information on their customers and their purchases, or directly by the Empire. Due to the fact that most places do not accept it outside of the city, it is sometimes referred to as play money – though the Empire can exchange it for KS directly after some thorough checking and verification.

The GS is heavily tracked, and it is law that whoever accepts them as currency is obligated by the Empire to report the following:

• The identity of the parties involved in the transaction
• The date and time
• The location
• The amount that exchanged hands
• What was purchased with the currency

Because of this, it is a hassle to use the money outside of its intended channels, which helps in several ways. It helps to keep track of what the children using the currency are purchasing, which keeps the parents informs and results in a monthly manifest for the child’s review and improvement upon spending habits. This also tracks purchases and helps keep the city stocked with what it needs. Another positive effect, however, is that it prevents the currency from being useful in undocumented or criminal transactions. Illegal imports are far less likely if the currency can only be used on site. A civic government using the GS system can also use its tracking system to sell up to the minute limited marketing data to companies on their products, to allow them to better determine trends and what their target consumers think of their product.

Much like the Kikyou Satsu, the GS is available in small printed notes made by the Department of Finance. However, an extremely low number of these notes are available at any given time outside the banks and schools themselves. Though legal tender within the city, they are typically only used as educational aids due to their inability to be tracked. Only low currencies are produced in an actual tangible form, because of how heavily the digital form of the GS is favored. Much of the GS in the bank are simply exchanged KS, though the banks are also known to back some of the GS with the KS fractional currencies. The currency of the GS exists only in 0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.50 coins and in 1 and 5 GS notes. It should be noted that these coins and notes match the lower currencies of the KS.

Coinage looks metal, but is actually made of a durable polymer with a magnetic metal powder suspended inside. This powder is aligned with a magnet upon the coin’s creation and can be scanned to verify the validity of the coin as well as its specific serial number. They are each a different color, mimicking a type of metal at a fraction of the cost, and are designed to be too large for a child to swallow. The notes are roughly the size of a KS card and are made of the same polymer with a strip of the same data-storing metal powder suspended inside with similar information. Their size and firmness not only make using an electronic card less confusing later, but also to allow them to fit in a child’s pocket or wallet without needing to be folded. Being placed in a washer or dryer will also leave the notes intact. Coins and Notes both have stamped images in them, but these images tend to be very simple. There is not enough detail for faces and persons. All coins and bills have their denomination stamped on the back.

Like the KS, most GS transactions happen with an electronic card which can only be accessed by the user. This works just like for the use of KS on the surface, so that the student will be eased into the use of the KS as a currency. It also, however, has the full purchase and identity tracking required by those who use the GS as currency. Students are expected to sometimes lose their GS Card and need it replaced, but they must make a personal visit to the bank and go through a process designed to be enough of a hassle to make them take better care of their card in the future.