These standards address access to information and communication technology (ICT) under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act charges the Access Board with developing and promulgating this rule. The statute also charges the Access Board with providing Technical Assistance on Section 508, which is provided through webinars, trainings, and in close collaboration with GSA and materials available from Section508.gov.
Section 508 requires access to ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies. Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also operate as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents. The Section 508 Standards, which are part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ensure access for people 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 others.
Process Overview: | Inventory your information and communication technology (ICT) 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.
Determine your ICT Exceptions 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.
Determine which standards apply 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: If your ICT item spans multiple categories (e.g., a VOIP IP solution that includes both hardware and software): 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.
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Resources: | Please explore the following for further guidance: BSPH Videos On Demand: Creating Universally Accessible Materials: Best Practices Accessibility: Considerations for Instruction at BSPH (11:53) [MP4] | transcript [txt] | presentation slides [PDF] Creating Universally Accessible Materials: Expectations of BSPH Faculty [PDF] WebAIM WCAG 2 Checklist WebAIM Word and PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist W3C’s Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Communications HHS 508 Accessibility Conformance Checklist
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Contacts: | Contact the Access Board for guidance on these standards
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