(1) A school district or institute charter school that seeks to receive a grant pursuant to this part 8 shall submit an application to the department in accordance with rules promulgated by the state board. A school district shall submit an application on behalf of all grade-appropriate schools in the district, including the district charter schools within the district. The application shall include the following information:

(a) The number of eligible students enrolled in the school district or institute charter school, as applicable;

(b) A description of the educational services that the school district or institute charter school anticipates providing through a summer school program;

(c) A description of the method that the school district or institute charter school will use to measure an eligible student's academic progress throughout the program;

(d) A description of the goals that the school district's or institute charter school's summer school program is expected to achieve and the method by which the school district or institute charter school will measure achievement of the goals; and

(e) Any additional information required by rule of the state board promulgated pursuant to section 22-7-803 (4).

(2) The department shall review the applications received from school districts and institute charter schools pursuant to this section and shall make recommendations to the state board concerning the awarding of grants and the amounts of the grants. The state board shall take into consideration the recommendations of the department and shall annually award grants to school districts and institute charter schools in amounts specified by the state board. In awarding grants pursuant to this part 8, the state board shall:

(a) Consider whether the school district's or institute charter school's summer school program complies with the requirements of section 22-7-804;

(b) Consider the geographic location of the school district or institute charter school, as applicable, and, to the extent possible, ensure that grant moneys are awarded to school districts and institute charter schools throughout the state;

(c) Award grants to school districts and institute charter schools that are implementing summer school programs using curricula that are research-based and that have been used with demonstrated success either by the applying school district or institute charter school or by another school district; and

(d) Award grants to school districts and institute charter schools that demonstrate success in improving the academic performance of eligible students in the area of reading, writing, or mathematics, as applicable.