(1) There is hereby created within the department the student re-engagement grant program to provide grant moneys to local education providers to use in providing educational services and supports to students to maintain student engagement and support student re-engagement in high school. Subject to available appropriations, the state board shall award student re-engagement grants to local education providers from moneys appropriated from the student re-engagement grant program fund created in subsection (4) of this section.

(2) The state board shall adopt rules pursuant to the "State Administrative Procedure Act", article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., for implementing the grant program. At a minimum, the rules shall include:

(a) Timelines and procedures by which a local education provider may apply for a grant;

(b) The information to be included on grant applications, including at a minimum:

(I) The local education provider's plan for providing educational services, including social and emotional support services;

(II) A description of the services to be provided;

(III) The estimated cost of providing the services;

(IV) The criteria the local education provider will apply to measure the effectiveness of the services provided; and

(V) A description of the local education provider's policies and practices related to:

(A) Course completion and credit recovery;

(B) Attendance and behavior improvements;

(C) Alternative and flexible learning strategies;

(D) Safe and welcoming school environments;

(E) Student social and emotional supports;

(F) Family engagement and family support strategies;

(G) Staff development;

(H) Innovations to address barriers to school engagement and success;

(I) Transference of student records to and receipt of student records from other local education providers; and

(J) Student participation in and the availability of visual arts and performing arts education.

(3) Each local education provider that seeks to receive a grant pursuant to this section shall submit an application to the department in accordance with the rules adopted by the state board. The department shall review the grant applications received and recommend grant recipients and grant amounts to the state board. The state board shall annually award grants through the grant program based on the department's recommendations.

(4) (a) There is created in the state treasury the student re-engagement grant program fund, referred to in this subsection (4) as the "fund", that consists of any money credited to the fund pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of this section and any additional money that the general assembly may appropriate to the fund, including money from the marijuana tax cash fund created in section 39-28.8-501. The money in the fund is subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly to the department for the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of this section.

(b) The department is authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the purposes of this section; except that the department may not accept a gift, grant, or donation if it is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this article or any other law of the state. The department shall transmit all private and public moneys received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the fund.

(c) The department may expend up to three percent of the moneys annually appropriated from the fund to offset the costs incurred in implementing this section and in evaluating and providing technical assistance to local education providers that receive grants pursuant to this section.

(d) Any moneys in the fund not expended for the purpose of this section may be invested by the state treasurer as provided by law. All interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund.

(e) The department is encouraged to direct to the fund any federal moneys received by the department that may be used for the purposes specified in this section.

(5) (a) On or before February 15, 2011, and on or before February 15 each year thereafter, the department shall evaluate the student re-engagement services provided by each local education provider that received a grant pursuant to this section in the preceding fiscal year; except that the department need not provide an evaluation for any fiscal year in which grants were not awarded. At a minimum, the department shall review:

(I) The outcomes and effectiveness of the services provided as measured by the demonstrated degree of student re-engagement;

(II) The academic growth of students who received services as a result of the grant, to the extent the information is available;

(III) The reduction in the dropout rate; and

(IV) The increase in the graduation and completion rates for the grant recipients' schools.

(b) The department shall report the evaluation results to the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, in conjunction with the report submitted pursuant to section 22-14-111.