Mediation hearings have not been successful in the Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse dispute involving former Miramonte teacher Mark Berndt, who is accused of 23 counts of lewd acts involving children.  The battle has now moved to a new court since the deadline to reach a settlement has passed.  Those involved are hoping that the new judge will help the disputants reach an agreement.  Representing the families whose children were involved, Attorney Luis Carrillo went on record stating, "I'm hoping that with this judge, things will improve and get serious."

The Los Angeles Unified School District has already offered the victims $47 million to cover 98 claims.  According to allegations from some of the families involved, the LAUSD knew about the former teacher’s proclivity toward, and history of, sexual misconduct with children, yet did nothing to remove him from the district.  A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Sean Rossall, stated "We think that the settlements that have been offered to this point are fair, but we look forward to the process that's going to unfold here.”

Rossall also stated that the mediation sessions have remained confidential and he hopes that the work they accomplished through them will help both parties reach a resolution soon.  Speaking of the mediation experience, Rossall stated, “It's all in the vein of moving this closer towards resolution and doing it in a way that's respectful for the families.”

In addition to more compensation, the families of the children are also requesting that the school district put measures into place to avoid a situation like this happening in the future.