County board conditionally renews Norton Science & Language Academy charter for two years

The San Bernardino County Board of Education on Wednesday approved a two‑year renewal of the countywide charter for Norton Science & Language Academy, but only after attaching conditions that the school must meet in writing within weeks.

Board members voted to adopt staff—s recommendation to approve the renewal with conditions, citing Education Code requirements that apply to renewals for schools classified as low performing. The action keeps NSLA open for the next two academic years while requiring the charter—s operator to submit specified documents, including a revised academic improvement plan (AIP), updated petition elements and a finalized memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the county office.

The board and county staff said the requests are intended to ensure the AIP and petition provide a clear, measurable path to raised student outcomes. The county—s charter review team found several areas that required supplementation: the AIP needed to use the state—s preferred metrics (distance from standard rather than percent proficient), the petition needed an expanded description of the school—s dual‑immersion program and its research basis, the admissions preferences language needed correction for a countywide charter, and some procedural items such as board member names and the school calendar needed to be added or clarified.

Norton representatives told the board they had already begun revisions and had engaged outside experts in dual‑language instruction. Petition presenters said they have worked with dual‑language researcher Dr. Jose Medina and have launched program enhancements including training on a C6 biliteracy framework, updated language allocation that shifts the 90/10 model to begin in TK and added Orton‑Gillingham interventions for tiered literacy supports. Parents, teachers and a financial advisor spoke in favor of renewal during the public hearing, highlighting bilingual outcomes, STEM partnerships and solid fiscal ratios.

The board—s conditional approval requires the petitioner to submit amended petition documents and the final AIP within the timeline specified in the staff report; the county office will review the materials and report back to the board if any items remain unsatisfied. Staff told board members the typical next steps include county review of the revised documents and notification to the public via the county—s charter office.

Votes at the meeting were taken by voice. The motion to approve with conditions carried; board members recorded their votes by voice and the motion passed without detailed roll‑call allocation recorded in the public transcript.

Why it matters: Norton is a countywide dual‑language immersion school that serves students from across San Bernardino County. Under state law the county office must weigh both the petition and evidence the school is taking meaningful steps to address low performance; the two‑year conditional renewal gives the county office oversight while allowing the school to continue operating as requested.

What comes next: The petitioners must provide the amended petition elements and an updated AIP that uses state metrics and the additional documentation listed in the county staff report. County staff will review the materials and notify the board of any outstanding issues.

Speakers and sources for this article are drawn from the meeting transcript and include county charter staff, counsel and petition representatives who spoke during the public hearing.