Section 508 Vendor Notice
Effective June 25, 2001, the federal government implemented Section 508 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Amendments of 1998 (29 U.S.C. § 794(d)).
Section 508 requires that the federal government only acquire electronic
and information technology goods and services that provide for access by
persons with disabilities. For more information, see http://www.section508.gov.
Under "Buy Accessible", a partnership between government and industry, the
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) is hosting a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template on their site. It allows vendors who choose to participate the ability to copy the
template and complete it to describe how a particular product or service
they offer conforms to Section 508 Access Board standards. This template
should be placed on the vendors accessible web site and the link to the
template provided to the Buy Accessible database.
Government procurement staff will be able to search the site by specific
product or service type and see all vendors who have provided links. They
can then use the links to reach the template information and product or
service descriptions necessary to complete their market research.