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These standards address access to best practices address the accessibility of information and communication technology (ICT) under in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act. Researchers should consider these practices when publishing their research findings.

The term "accessible" refers to providing individuals with disabilities the same opportunity to access information, engage in interactions, and enjoy services as individuals without disabilities, in an equally effective and integrated manner, with comparable ease of use. Individuals with disabilities should be able to obtain information as fully, equally, and independently as those without disabilities (South Carolina Technical College, 2013).

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act charges assigns the responsibility to the Access Board with for developing and promulgating enforcing this ruleregulation.   The statute also charges the Access Board is also tasked with providing Technical Assistance technical assistance on Section 508 , which is provided through webinars, trainingstraining sessions, and in close collaboration with GSA and materials available from the General Services Administration (GSA). Additional resources can be found on http://Section508.gov.

Section 508 requires mandates that federal agencies provide access to ICT developedthat they develop, procuredprocure, maintainedmaintain, or used by federal agenciesuse.   Examples of ICT include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines (such as copiers that also operate double as printers), software, websites, information kiosks and , transaction machines, and electronic documents.   The Section 508 Standards, which are part of incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ensure access for people individuals with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.

Principles of WCAG

There are four main guiding principles of accessibility upon which WCAG has been built. These four principles are known by the acronym POUR for perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. POUR is a way of approaching web accessibility by breaking it down into these four main aspects.

Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information comparable to the access available to othersimpairments. However, these standards are designed to benefit everyone by promoting an inclusive digital experience.

Process Overview:

  1.  Inventory your information and communication technology (ICT)

    1. Review the business requirements of your project or acquisition to identify which major components contain information and communication technology (ICT). ICT items include such things as software, hardware, electronic content, support documentation & services. When conducting a procurement, review the Revised 508 Standards Applicability Checklist for each ICT item.

  2. Determine your ICT Exceptions

    1. Identifying whether you can claim an exception for information and communication technology (ICT) items in your Federal IT procurement or development project is the second step in determining how the Revised 508 Standards apply. This is important to ensure that any technology your agency buys or builds will be accessible. A full list of exceptions is detailed in the Standards under E202 General Exceptions. Use the Revised 508 Standards Applicability Checklist to document ICT exceptions.

  3. Determine which standards apply

    1. To ensure that any technology your agency buys or builds will be accessible, you must determine which of the Revised 508 Standards apply to your Federal IT procurement and development project. Identify which Standards apply to each information and communication technology (ICT) item:

      • Select the type of ICT, then answer the questions

      • If your ICT item falls under a single category:

        • Select the category that best fits, and only answer those questions

      • If your ICT item spans multiple categories (e.g., a VOIP IP solution that includes both hardware and software):

        • Answer the questions under each relevant category

      • Record your responses in the Revised 508 Standards Applicability Checklist (MS-Word, April 2018)

      Note, this step is not required if your entire ICT item is eligible for any of the exceptions (which you should have determined in Step 2), except the Best Meets exception. If only some components of the ICT item qualify for an exception, you must determine which Standards apply to the remaining components. 

Resources:

 Please explore the following for further guidanceAdditional resources to learn more about accessible communication technology:

  1. HHS 508 Accessibility Conformance Checklist  

  2. Creating Universally Accessible Materials: Expectations of BSPH Faculty [PDF]

  3. W3C’s Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Communications

  4. BSPH Website Help Desk Guidance:https://webhelp.jhsph.edu/support/solutions/folders/6000241212

View file
nameResourcesAccessibleMaterialsInclusiveTeaching-Nov2022.pdf

Training Offered by JHU Learning Solutions:

 Training Videos for Futher Guidance:

  Contact the Access Board for guidance on these standards

  • 202-272-0080 (voice)

    • 508@access-board.gov

    1. BSPH Videos On Demand: Creating Universally Accessible Materials: Best Practices

    2. Accessibility: Considerations for Instruction at BSPH (11:53) [MP4] | transcript [txt] | presentation slides [PDF]

    3. https://ctl.jhsph.edu/blog/category/#accessibility: Accessibility Videos

    4. Creating Universally Accessible Materials: Expectations of BSPH Faculty [PDF]

    5. WebAIM WCAG 2 Checklist

    6. WebAIM Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist

    7. W3C’s Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Communications

    8. HHS 508 Accessibility Conformance Checklist  

    Contacts:

    1. Best Practices for Everybody

    Contacts:

    ctlhelp@jhu.edu

    Related Links:

      Research Integrity & Oversight (Regulatory)

     

    We are always working to provide our faculty with current precise content. If you have brief suggestions to help us improve this page please comment below. For more extensive modifications please connect with us at BSPH.research@jhu.edu.