Academy for IDEA Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers
Seattle University School of Law
P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, 98122-1050
United States
(206) 447-8050

Jim joined the Law School in September 2001 as supervisor of the Special Education Clinical program until 2005. Thereafter, he served as Director of Continuing Legal Education until June 2009, following which he became Director of Education Law Programs. In 2002, he established the National Academy of IDEA Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers, which has trained special education hearing officers from over 25 states. He currently serves as Chair of the Special Education Section of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary (NAALJ). He is the founder of COPAA (The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates), a private, non-profit organization established to improve the quality and increase the quantity of legal resources for parents of children with disabilities. In April 2002, Jim was invited to testify before the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education. He also participated in the Monitoring Stakeholders Project convened by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), to consider changes in OSEP’s monitoring and compliance (“Focused Monitoring”). He has had a long interest in improving the IDEA hearing system and, in 1985, testified before Congress on suggested improvements.

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