Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- In the wake of a teacher misconduct scandal , Los Angeles school officials have referred the discipline cases of 604 teachers from the past four years to state authorities to decide whether the teachers ' licenses should also be revoked , a school spokesman said Thursday . Of the 604 cases in which teachers were fired or facing discipline , 60 teachers were accused of sexual misconduct with pupils on or off campus or with minors who were n't students , school officials told CNN . The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will investigate 366 of the 604 teacher cases , spokeswoman Anne Padilla said on Thursday . Most of the cases focused on allegations of teacher misconduct that involved student safety . The referral of the cases to state licensing investigators is the latest turn in the nation 's second largest school system . It has been reeling from a scandal at Miramonte Elementary School , where two teachers have been charged with lewd acts on pupils , including one teacher accused of putting children in adult-like bondage situations and placing semen-filled spoons at their mouths . The lurid allegations prompted an internal review of the system 's handling of past teacher misconduct cases , and the district determined that 604 cases needed to be referred to state licensing authorities for review , though `` a substantial number '' of other misconduct cases had already been reported to the state , school officials told CNN . `` Protecting California 's schoolchildren is always a priority for the commission . The workload has been a challenge , but a necessary one , '' commission executive director Mary Vixie Sandy said in a statement . The 604 cases include teachers who were disciplined or were about to face discipline since July 2008 , according to Ira Berman , Los Angeles Unified School District director of employee relations , and Vivian Ekchian , the district 's chief human resources officer . The cases also include teachers who were fired by the school board or who left the district after termination proceedings were initiated or while an allegation of misconduct was pending , Berman and Ekchian said . The system does n't know whether any of the teachers who were fired or who left the district are still in the classroom in other school districts , according to Berman and Ekchian . The 604 figure also includes teachers who were suspended for 11 days or more for a variety of reasons not involving sexual misconduct with students , the two officials said . `` The safety of our students is our No . 1 priority , '' Ekchian said in explaining why the system referred the 604 cases to the state . The United Teachers Los Angeles , the teachers ' union , had no comment Thursday on the school board 's action , spokeswoman Marla Eby said . The system 's internal investigation arose after parental outrage at Miramonte , where a teacher resigned from the system last year but was not referred to the state for possible license revocation , school district spokesman Tom Waldman said . That person is former teacher Mark Berndt , 61 , who pleaded not guilty in February to allegations he bound young students , then photographed them with semen-filled spoons held at their mouths and three-inch cockroaches crawling across their faces , among other graphic depictions . `` We had not informed Sacramento to revoke Mr. Berndt 's credentials , '' Waldman said . Berndt 's teaching credentials have been suspended , Padilla said . Berndt is being held on $ 23 million bond and faces 23 counts of lewd acts on a child . The 23 victims were between 7 and 10 years old , and all but two of them were girls , the Los Angeles County District Attorney 's Office said . Authorities have said they have discovered roughly 600 images allegedly taken by Berndt in his classroom . Los Angeles School Superintendent John Deasy has said Berndt was removed from his teaching job in January 2011 after school officials learned of the police investigation . A teacher for 30 years , Berndt initially challenged the school district 's decision to dismiss him . But he eventually dropped his appeal and resigned last spring . His arrest in January led to a broader fallout over the adequacy of safeguards for the school 's students and the prospect of more victims . Days after Berndt was taken into custody , another Miramonte Elementary teacher -- Martin Springer , 49 -- was arrested and charged with three felony counts of lewd acts with a girl younger than 14 . He has pleaded not guilty . The school board subsequently shut Miramonte for two days , during which the board reconstituted the entire staff in the 1,400-student school . Miramonte is in unincorporated Los Angeles County within the Florence-Firestone area , about six miles south of downtown Los Angeles . Meanwhile , the California state auditor is going to carry out an emergency $ 300,000 audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District 's actions in managing and documenting child abuse claims , said State Assemblyman Ricardo Lara , D-Bell Gardens , who sponsored the performance audit proposal . The incident at Miramonte and similar allegations of child sex abuse at other Los Angeles public schools prompted the audit , Lara said . CNN 's Jaqueline Hurtado contributed to this report .
Los Angeles school officials submit 604 teacher discipline cases for state licensing review . State teaching licensing authorities say they will investigate 366 of the teachers . The California Teachers Assn. `` The safety of our students is our No . 1 priority , '' L.A. school official says .