Seal of the Access Board

New 508 Standards Advisory Committee Holds Its First Meeting October 6, 2006

 

The Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) held its first meeting September 27 - 29 in Arlington, Virginia at the National Science Foundation.  The Board organized this committee to review its section 508 standards for electronic and information technology and to provide recommendations on how they should be updated.  The committee will also address updating the Board’s guidelines for telecommunications products covered by section 255 of the Telecommunications Act.

Group photo of the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee Committee Co-chairs Michael Paciello and Jim Tobias opened the meeting, following welcoming remarks from Board Chair David L. Bibb and Executive Director Lawrence Roffee.  All 41 members of the committee attended the meeting, including representatives from the European Union and entities in Canada, Japan, and Australia.

The Board provided a briefing on regulations governing committees of this type under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.  The committee reviewed and approved protocols that will govern its work and meetings.  The committee’s objectives, milestones, subcommittee structure, and meeting schedule were also discussed.

Members heard presentations and panel discussions on the 508 standards and issues that need to be explored as recommended by government, consumer, and industry representatives.  Information was provided on various accessibility initiatives in the U.S. and abroad relating to electronic and information technology.  This included updates on efforts to develop standards by the European Union, the Japanese Standards Association, Industry Canada, and Australia’s Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

The committee named eight subcommittees devoted to different subject areas and assigned a committee member to convene each subcommittee.  The conveners will hold follow-up sessions to organize members and to determine subcommittee leadership and methods of work.  In addition, the committee approved meeting dates for full committee meetings to be held over the course of the next ten months and agreed to accept America Online (AOL) as an additional member.

Subcommittees:
The following subcommittees were created:

Meeting Calendar:
The committee selected the following dates for future meetings of the full committee.  Extenuating circumstances could affect this schedule.

Further information, including the adopted protocols and presentations made at the meeting, are available from the 508 Update page.

The on-line workspace for the committee and subcommittees can be found at teitac.org.

 

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