Legislation
Section
508 is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section
508 was amended
in 1998 to strengthen the requirement for Federal agencies' electronic
and
information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, including
employees and members of the public.
Regulations
The Access
Board Standards:
Section
508 Standards published on December 21, 2000, were developed by the
Architecture and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also referred
to as
the Access Board ). The scope of section 508 and the Board's standards
are
limited to the Federal sector.
Under standards
published by the Access Board, the Federal government will be
in the forefront in ensuring access to electronic and information technology.
These standards, the first of their kind in the Federal sector, cover
various means
of disseminating information, including computers, software, and electronic
office
equipment. They provide criteria that spell out what makes these products
accessible to people with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing,
and
mobility impairments. The Board developed these standards under Section
508
of the Rehabilitation Act as amended by Congress in 1998. The law applies
to all
Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use such technology.
Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees
and members of the public with disabilities to the extent it does not
pose an
"undue burden." The law directed the Board to develop access
standards that
are to become part of the Federal government's procurement regulations.
The FAR
Rule:
Section 508 uses the Federal procurement process to ensure that technology acquired by the Federal Government is accessible. Consequently, all procurements for electronic and information (EIT) must follow the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 39 Acquisition of Information Technology Subpart 39.2 Electronic and Information Technology. Failure of an agency to purchase EIT that complies with the Section 508 standards may result in an individual with a disability filing a compliant alleging that a Federal agency has not complied with the standards. Individuals may also file a civil action against an agency. The enforcement provision of Section 508 took effect June 21, 2001.
Policy
Department of Justice 508 Home Page
Department of Commerce
The DoC CIO
issued policy
on Section 508 that addresses the information technology aspects of
the Section 508 of the Rehabiliation Act as revised in 1998. The Section
508 policy includes:
(1) the
DoC policy on "Web
Site Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities" (April 12,
2001)
(2) the use of the Exhibit 300 to document the Section 508 requirement
as part of the IT Capital Planning and Acquisition Processes. Section
508 compliance is addressed in part I of the Exhibit 300 in Section I.G.7
"How will you ensure Section 508 compliance?"
NOAA
Acquisition
Alert sent out by the Director of the Acquisition and Grants Office
provides the procurement guidance for implementation of Section 508.