Do Your Technical
Standards Work For You or
Against You?
Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D.
Disability Access Information and
Support (DAIS)
Use of Technical Standards
 Assure consistency of evaluation of future
professionals
 Provide quality-assurance that students completing
the program have mastered critical skills
 Help new and prospective students to understand
the scope and intensity of training
 Other?
Operating Principles
 Making accommodations should never entail
expecting less; we do not lower standards
 Focus is on skills necessary to complete training,
not on skills presumed necessary in the future
 Focus on what must be done, not how it is done.
What must be done to achieve the goal of the
activity? The conduct of the activity is not at
issue.
Operating Principles (cont)
 Technical standards should delineate observable
performance elements that can be reliably assessed for
all students; standards should encompass important
elements of performance for all students, regardless of
disability status
 Exit criteria should never be used as entry criteria (for
screening out potential candidates)
 Technical standards should not focus on someone’s
status as a person with a disability; the focus is on
what students are meant to do, with or without
disability
Operating Principles (cont)
 It is inappropriate to set arbitrary limits on the amount of
reasonable accommodation allowed; if the accommodation
significantly interferes with demonstration of quality or
becomes a safety issue, it is no longer “reasonable”
 Historical precedent (concerning potential work settings)
and traditional views of a “typical” professional in the field
are not pertinent in the development of technical standards
 Generally, technical standards relate to skills and
techniques taught within the program, not prerequisite
knowledge, skills, or abilities that incoming students are
thought to possess
Which of the following is an inappropriate
technical standard for Nursing?
 a) Ability to maneuver in small spaces such as
patient rooms
 b) Ability to bend, stoop, kneel, or grasp while
administering medication and delivering patient
care
 c) Ability to independently transfer a patient
weighing up to 175 lbs.
 d) All of the above are inappropriate
 e) None of the above are inappropriate
Which of the following is an inappropriate
eligibility criteria for entrance to a graduate
program in Social Work?
 a) 3.50 GPA in undergraduate coursework
 b) Ability to function well in stressful situations
 c) At least 3 hours of college credit in a course
focused on cross-cultural communication
 d) All of the above are inappropriate
 e) None of the above are inappropriate
Which of the following majors does not lend
itself to the development of technical
standards?




a) Elementary education
b) Culinary arts
c) Math
d) All of the above should have technical
standards in place
 e) None of the above need technical
standards in place
Which of the following is an inappropriate
technical standard for Automotive Repair?
 a) Hear subtle cues from running engine and
make appropriate adjustments for maximum
engine efficiency
 b) Test drive vehicle after repair and make
appropriate additional adjustments/repairs
 c) Inspect engine for worn or corroded parts and
replace as appropriate
 d) All of the above are inappropriate.
 e) None of the above are inappropriate
Which of the following is an inappropriate
technical standard for an Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT)?
 a) Sufficient mobility to climb stairs and
crawl through narrow passages
 b) Sufficient dexterity to apply tourniquet
 c) Sufficient hearing to understand and
comply with radio instructions
 d) All of the above are inappropriate
 e) None of the above are inappropriate
Want a Copy?
 Write to JaneJarrow@aol.com