For the purpose of improving the quality of the education and training provided to the school-age children in state hospitals and training centers operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, there is hereby established a program of grants from such funds as are appropriated by the General Assembly to promote the research and development of innovative methods of teaching children with mental illness, intellectual disability, or serious emotional disturbance in residential settings. This program shall be available to the education directors and instructional staffs of the state hospitals and training centers operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The Board of Education shall award these grants on the basis of the recommendations of an advisory committee composed of the Director of the Virginia Treatment Center for Children, two representatives of the Department of Education and two representatives of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The advisory committee shall establish objectives for these grants, develop requests for proposals and set criteria for evaluating the applications for funds.