LA Unified is facing yet another civil suit connected to a former teacher at Miramonte Elementary School after an LA County Superior Court judge ruled today that the case can move forward. The case, E.Z. v LAUSD, was filed May 7 and involves a single plaintiff who says she was a student of Mark Berndt‘s in 1996-1997,...

A judge ruled today that a former LA Unified official’s lawsuit that claims his contract was not renewed in retaliation for criticizing the district’s handling of the Miramonte Elementary sex abuse case cannot move forward without more information being added to the complaint. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Fruin found that there are not enough...

A judge has ruled that LA Unified’s lawsuit accusing its former chief risk officer of stealing confidential documents related to the Miramonte school sex abuse case and leaking them to the media will move forward, as it does not violate the defendant’s First Amendment rights, City News Service reported. The lawsuit against Gregg Breed was filed in...

LA Unified has reached a settlement worth almost $140 million with 81 victims and their families from the sex abuse scandal involving former teacher Mark Berndt at Miramonte Elementary School. The exact amount, $139,250,000, is the largest settlement involving LA Unified and possibly of any school district in the country. “This puts to rest all...

Jury selection resumed today in the Miramonte Elementary School sex-abuse civil case against LA Unified while settlement proceed but not yet with any results. The district school board met in a closed session yesterday reportedly to discuss a settlement offer that was made by the plaintiffs, who are former students and parents at Miramonte suing...

Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in the civil case stemming from the sex abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School by former teacher Mark Berndt. Also set for today is a settlement hearing, which was scheduled by the judge in an effort to settle the case before it goes to trial. Assuming no settlement...

Building on her success investigating LA Unified’s controversial iPad program, Board Member Monica Ratliff is now asking for an overall examination into how the district allocates support for legal matters as a way to find added funding for improving school safety. In two resolutions set to come before the board next Tuesday, Ratliff is calling...

*UPDATE The first civil trial against LA Unified over the sex abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School is headed to court later this week but first, a County Superior Court judge has ordered the two sides to meet for a last ditch effort to settle the case. Judge John Shepard Wiley has ordered the district to...

In the face of reports that Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt molested many more children than previously known, according to an LA County Sheriff’s investigation, LA Unified today said it followed prescribed legal regulations in dealing with reports of the allegations. The sheriff’s report included the assertion that the school district in 2008 destroyed...

LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy used the resolution of the Mark Berndt molestation case to campaign for a new law that would make it easier to get rid of abusive teachers. Berndt, a Miramonte Elementary School teacher who was accused of abusing 23 students under the age of 14, pleaded no contest in court today and...