Essential requirements for clinical laboratory science.
OBJECTIVE
To present a sample list of essential requirements for clinical laboratory science (CLS) education that support the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The essential requirements provide a basis for student admission and academic progress measurement.


METHODS
Over 700 articles have appeared in various professional and trade journals on the impact of the ADA since it was signed in 1990.


METHODS
Literature review.


RESULTS
The ADA prohibits discrimination against academically qualified program applicants with disabilities, and requires a list of essential requirements, distinct from academic requirements and distinct from essential functions of jobs, for each academic program. Essential requirements, also called technical standards or functional expectations, are task and attribute-based criteria that define their educational program. Applicants and students must possess or be able to achieve the essential requirements directly or through reasonable accommodations.


CONCLUSIONS
By July 1994, all educators must have been prepared with defensible essential and academic requirements that reflect the needs of their programs, and with appropriate processes for managing applications, academic progress, and program completion that promote equal educational opportunity for qualified individuals with disabilities.
Fritsma
G A
GA
Clinical Laboratory Science Division, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294-1270, USA. CLSD002@UABDPO.DPO.UAB.EDU
Fiorella
B J
BJ
Murphy
M
M
D003479:Curriculum; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D014481:United States