(1) There is created in the department of higher education the Colorado student leaders institute to operate as a pilot program through the summer of 2019. The institute is a competitive residential summer academic program for students who are entering tenth or eleventh grade in the coming fall semester. The institute operates for four weeks each summer during which time students who are accepted to the institute attend college-level classes, lectures, and seminars as well as enrichment activities, including concerts and theatrical productions. Each student who is accepted to the institute is encouraged to donate up to four hundred dollars to the institute to assist in meeting operational costs. Subject to available appropriations, up to one hundred students may annually participate in the institute.

(2) (a) The institute shall annually offer classes in at least the following two areas:

(I) Science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics; and

(II) International social studies.

(b) The institute shall annually provide enrichment activities for students who participate in the institute, which must include but need not be limited to activities relating to visual expression and music appreciation.

(c) In addition to participating in classes and enrichment activities, students who participate in the institute must:

(I) Complete a history research project for a competition held during the term of the institute; and

(II) Complete a public service practicum that includes a final report of findings and recommendations to the general assembly for legislative action.

(3) (a) (I) To apply to participate in the institute:

(A) A student who is enrolled in a public school that is not a charter school must be nominated by the superintendent of the school district in which the student is enrolled; and

(B) A student who is enrolled in a charter school or in a private school must be nominated by the principal of the school.

(II) A student who is participating in a nonpublic home-based educational program, as described in section 22-33-104.5, may apply without having been nominated.

(b) To apply to participate in the institute, a student must submit an application to the executive board that is in the form and meets the requirements established by the host institution. If the applying student is enrolled in a public school, the student must submit a copy of his or her individual career and academic plan, as described in section 22-2-136, with the application.

(4) The host institution shall award three hours of postsecondary academic credit to each student who successfully completes the institute. The school district or high school in which each student is enrolled is encouraged to apply the academic credit hours that a student receives for completing the institute toward completing the student's high school graduation requirements.