(a) The Commissioner of Education shall award grants annually, in accordance with this section and § 10-266u, to local and regional boards of education identified as priority school districts pursuant to § 10-266p. In addition, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2000, and June 30, 2001, the commissioner shall provide a grant to any local or regional board of education in a town which does not qualify for a grant pursuant to subsection (a) of § 10-266p for said fiscal years but does qualify for a grant pursuant to subsection (b) of said section for said fiscal years. The grants shall provide funds for extended school building hours for public schools in such districts for academic enrichment and support, and recreation programs for students in the districts. Such programs may be conducted in buildings other than public school buildings, provided the board of education is able to demonstrate to the commissioner that the facility in which the program will be run can adequately support the academic goals of the program and a plan is in place to provide adequate academic instruction.

(b) The Commissioner of Education shall provide a grant estimate annually to each priority school district. The estimated grant shall be calculated as follows: Each district’s average daily membership, as defined in subdivision (2) of § 10-261, divided by the total of all priority school districts’ average daily membership, multiplied by the amount appropriated for the grant program minus the amounts specified in subsections (a) and (b) of § 10-266u.

(c) (1) Annually, each such district shall file a grant application with the Commissioner of Education, in such form and at such time as he prescribes. The application shall identify the local distribution of funds by school and operator, with program specification, hours and days of operation.

(2) Each such district shall solicit applications for individual school programs, on a competitive basis, from town and nonprofit agencies, prioritize the applications and select applications for funding within the total grant amount allocated to the district. District decisions to fund individual school programs shall be based on specified criteria including: (A) Total hours of operation, (B) number of students served, (C) total student hours of service, (D) total program cost, (E) estimate of volunteer hours, or other sources of support, (F) community involvement, commitment and support, (G) nonduplication of existing services, (H) needs of the student body of the school, (I) unique qualities of the proposal, and (J) responsiveness to the requirements of this section and § 10-266u. Each district shall submit to the commissioner all proposals received as part of its grant application and documentation of the review and ranking process for such proposals.

(3) Grants to individual school programs shall be limited to a range of twenty to eighty thousand dollars per school, based on school enrollment.

(d) Each district, shall: (1) Demonstrate, in its grant application, that a district-wide and school building needs assessment was conducted, including an inventory of existing academic enrichment and support, and recreational opportunities available during nonschool hours both within and outside of school buildings; (2) ensure equal program access for all students and necessary accommodations and support for students with disabilities; (3) provide a summer component, unless it is able to document that sufficient summer opportunity already exists; (4) include in its application a schedule and total number of hours that it determines to be reasonable and sufficient for individual school programs; (5) support no less than ten per cent of the cost of the total district-wide extended school building hours program and provide documentation of local dollars or in-kind contributions, or both; and (6) contract for the direct operation of the program, unless it is able to document that no providers are interested or able to provide a cost efficient program.

(e) All programs funded pursuant to this section shall: (1) Offer both academic enrichment and support and recreation experiences, (2) be open to all resident students in the district, (3) be designed to ensure communication with the child’s teacher and ties to the regular school curriculum, (4) be clearly articulated with structured and specified experiences for children but able to accommodate the irregular participation of any one child, (5) provide for community involvement, (6) investigate the use of the National Service Corps, (7) coordinate operations and activities with existing programs and the agencies which operate such programs, (8) provide for parent involvement in program planning and the use of parents as advisers and volunteers, and (9) provide for business involvement or sponsorship. Programs within a district may vary in terms of times of operation and nature of the program. All programs which operate in a public school shall have access to existing special facilities and equipment in the public school and shall have the written endorsement of the school principal and superintendent of schools for the school district.

(f) Grant funds may be used to hire personnel to provide for the instruction and supervision of children and for necessary support costs such as food, program supplies, equipment and materials, direct cost of building maintenance, personnel supervision and transportation but shall not be used for indirect costs.

(g) The Commissioner of Education may negotiate the contents of a district’s grant application or refuse to authorize a grant if he finds the proposal costs are not reasonable or necessary or the selection of specific local building programs over others was not justified by the process and the data.

(h) Notwithstanding subsections (d) and (e) of this section, a school district may charge fees for participation in after-school academic enrichment, support or recreational programs, provided the fees are calculated on a sliding scale based on ability to pay and no fee exceeds seventy-five per cent of the average cost of participation. No school district may exclude a student from participation in such after-school academic enrichment, support and recreational programs due to inability to pay a fee.

(i) Commencing with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, if a school district that received a grant pursuant to subsection (a) of this section for the prior fiscal year is no longer eligible to receive such a grant, such school district shall receive a phase-out grant for each of the three fiscal years following the fiscal year such school district received a grant under this section. The amount of such phase-out grants shall be determined as follows: (1) Seventy-five per cent of the amount of the final grant under this section for the first fiscal year following the fiscal year that such school district received such final grant, (2) fifty per cent of the amount of such final grant for the second fiscal year following the fiscal year that such school district received such final grant, and (3) twenty-five per cent of the amount of such final grant for the third fiscal year following the fiscal year that such school district received such final grant.