Web sites, applications, and anything
that uses online information might be affected by this
United States law.
By KATHARYN
BINE
Washington, D.C. Chapter
Published in Hyperviews:Online, a quarterly publication
of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) Online
Information Special Interest Group (SIG), Spring 2001 (Volume
4, #2), article
updated September 9, 2001.
What is Section 508?
Section 508 is a part of the
United States of America Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which
requires that Federal agencies’ electronic and information
technology (EIT) be accessible to people with disabilities
(vision, hearing, mobility) if the EIT is procured on or
after June 21, 2001. EIT includes the following:
- Software applications and operating systems
- Web-based information or applications
- Telecommunications functions
- Video or multi-media products
- Self-contained, closed products such as information
kiosks and transaction machines
- Computers
Why Companies Should Care
There are four compelling reasons to make your company’s
EIT comply with Section 508:
- It makes good business sense.
- You, a family member, a friend, or a colleague might
need accessibility.
- It’s good development.
- U.S. Federal agencies must comply with this rule by
June 21, 2001.
It makes good business sense
Disability advocates estimate that 10 percent of the U.S.
population might have temporary or permanent disabilities.
That means that 10 percent of the people who need or want
information from Federal agencies might encounter problems
getting it simply because the EIT is not accessible. Agencies
that pride themselves on customer service cannot accept
turning away 10 percent of their customers simply because
of accessibility issues. By making information accessible,
the agency supports all users better.
You, a family member, a friend, or a colleague might
need accessibility
A car accident or surgery can affect eyesight, hearing,
and use of legs and arms temporarily or permanently. With
the aging of America, more people are going to need EIT
that works properly with Braille readers, screen magnifiers,
electronic text readers, and keyboards. Diabetes, macular
degeneration, and glaucoma are chronic diseases that can
cause low vision or blindness. The Federal government enacted
this legislation so that everyone—including persons
with disabilities—has access to software and Web
sites developed with tax dollars.
It’s good development
Accessibility’s guiding principle is that it improves
usability for everyone, but significantly improves quality
of life for persons with disabilities. For example, curb
cuts in sidewalks make it possible for a person who uses
a wheelchair to go to restaurants or to go shopping. While
not essential to their mobility, these features are useful
to parents with children in strollers or travelers with
wheeled luggage. In software development, a feature such
as enabling the Tab key to move from text box to text box
on a form is essential for use by a person with low vision
or no vision. It is appreciated by a sighted person who
types information rapidly. It’s good development.
Federal agencies must comply with this rule by June 21,
2001
EIT procured after June 21, 2001 that does not comply
with Section 508 leaves the Federal government open to
lawsuit. If the person who files the suit wins, they cannot
win punitive or compensatory damages, but they can recover
their legal fees and court costs.
Legislation requiring accessibility has existed for two
years. The difference is that Section 508 provides for
enforcement and legal action if a Federal agency’s
EIT is not accessible.
How You Can Prepare for June 21, 2001
You and your company can prepare to meet Section 508’s
requirements by doing the following:
- Assess your EIT development processes.
- Ensure that all staff members, not just engineers and
developers, understand why Section 508 is important.
- Ensure that your clients understand this requirement
and how you can help.
How Section 508 Affects EIT Development
At first, Section 508 appears to complicate EIT development,
increase costs, and increase the time required. Many developers
and engineers have not even heard of Section 508. Others
are getting information from unreliable sources and sharing
that information with coworkers.
Over time, however, these requirements might improve the
quality of EIT because of detailed requirements analysis,
additional Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC),
and usability testing. As EIT companies gain experience
with Section 508’s requirements, costs and schedules
estimations will improve and probably will decrease.
What If Your EIT Can’t Comply?
If there is absolutely no way for your EIT to comply with
Section 508, you can request a waiver because of “undue
burden.” Reasons for undue burden include the following:
- There is no budget to evaluate and modify the EIT for
Section 508 compliance.
- The information cannot be presented as text, such as
a map of an oil spill that shows its proximity to underwater
topography.
Lack of time is not a good reason for undue burden because
Federal agencies should have been complying with the 1998
law requiring compliance.
When Does This Law Take Effect?
It depends on who you ask.
Section 508’s language states that it affects work “procured” after
June 21, 2001. There are many interpretations as to what “procured” means.
Also, different agencies are using different dates for
compliance:
- The Government Services Administration (GSA) has stated
that on June 15, 2001 it plans to shut down any of its
Web sites that do not comply with Section 508.
- The Department of Justice, which is in charge of enforcing
Section 508, plans to enforce compliance with Section
508 for all EIT after June 21, 2001, regardless of the
procurement date.
- The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) states that
Section 508 applies to contracts and delivery orders
awarded or issued after June 25, 2001.
- An Executive Memoranda issued July 26, 2000, directs
the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to “make all programs
offered on their Internet and Intranet sites accessible
to people with disabilities by July 27, 2001, consistent
with the requirements of the Act and subject to the availability
of appropriations and technology...”
Because the U.S. government’s direction is unclear,
consider including Section 508 compliance in your proposals
and work plans for all current and proposed projects.
How You Can Meet This Challenge
At ICF International we believe that all software soon will
need to comply with Section 508’s guidelines. For
this reason, we are taking steps to ensure that the work
we do for our clients will comply with Section 508. You
and your company can use these steps, too. They include
the following:
- Form a Section 508 task force.
The task force tracks events and collects information.
Members of the task force represent each of the lines
of business within ICF’s software and Web site
development groups, so that persons in each group have
a person who can answer their questions.
- Hold a kick-off meeting.
Demonstrate assistive technologies (screen readers, magnification
devices, Braille readers) to all staff members so they
can understand how persons with disabilities use them.
- Hold weekly brown bag lunches.
A team member presents the Section 508 requirements for
a specific technology or HTML element. Topics can include
JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, ALT text for images,
tables, and Adobe Acrobat.
- Create an Intranet site for sharing information.
The Intranet site provides task force minutes, notes
from the brown bag lunches, and other resources for
your company’s staff.
- Meet with coworkers in other parts of the company.
Explain Section 508’s requirements and effects
on budgets and schedules with other projects within your
company.
- Meet with clients.
Discuss Section 508’s requirements and effects
on budgets and schedules that might affect your clients
and customers.
Conclusion
Section 508 might increase the cost of developing EIT.
The resulting work, however, will improve usability for
everyone, including persons with disabilities. Costs and
time required for development might decline over time.
If your company has a formal QA/QC process, Section 508
will add some steps to that process. If your company does
not have a formal QA/QC process, this might be your opportunity
to introduce it.
U.S. state and local agencies are adopting Section 508
for their EIT. Large companies that produce EIT and want
to sell to Federal agencies, such as Microsoft, will soon
provide better tools to make all EIT accessible.
Resources
The final version of Section 508: www.section508.gov/docs/508law.html
The World Wide Web Consortium’s guidelines that
are the basis for Section 508’s requirements: www.w3c.org/wai.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (www.hfes.org) has drafted a standard, HFES-200,
Part 2, on Software Accessibility, that is about to undergo
its final round of balloting to become an ANSI standard.
It is geared toward desktop software applications, as opposed
to web applications. Request by calling 310-394-1811 and
asking for Draft Standard Part 2. The cost is $25. The
standard is available only in hard copy. In my opinion,
the draft standard has formatting problems, inconsistencies
and omissions, and should be used only as an indication
of the goals of the standard.
The Access Board is “an independent Federal agency
devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities.” Its
Web site discusses architectural as well as EIT barriers:
www.access-board.gov/news/508-final.htm
The Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative
(www.section508.gov) is “a Federal
government inter-agency effort to offer information and
technical assistance to assist in the successful implementation
of Section 508.”
Hyperviews: Online
Accessibility Resource page
Katharyn Bine is a senior associate with ICF International
in Fairfax, VA. You can reach her at kbine@icfi.com.
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