Did you know that every 24 hours, the Web increases by more than 3.2 million pages and more than 715,000 images? We are an impatient, information-hungry generation, but for the estimated 54 million Americans who have a disability, the Internet’s incredible opportunities are often difficult to access. How many times have you gone to a website that is so cluttered with information in multiple columns with links scattered about, that it’s just dizzying, even for someone who isn’t low vision? Section 508 aims to improve the Web, especially for those who are visually impaired.
Section 508 is an extremely important piece of legislation that is, at times, very difficult to understand. For example, the quick reference guide, a summary of all the different aspects of the law, is 150 pages long. This article will attempt to boil Section 508 down and provide a clearer, and much shorter, picture.
Section 508 was originally implemented in 1986 as an amendment to The Rehabilitation Act of 1973. However, the original Section 508 had immense shortcomings, and turned out to be largely ineffective, namely due to a lack of enforcement. Recognizing the need for improvement, Section 508 was expanded and strengthened, coming into law on August 7, 1998. The law requires that when federal agencies and departments purchase, develop, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, the needs of all end users must be taken into account – including those with disabilities. Federal employees with disabilities and members of the public seeking information or services from a federal agency must have comparable access to, and use of, the information and data provided to those without disabilities. It took over two years before regulations addressing the requirements of Section 508 were written. The United States Access Board standards were published in December of 2000, and became enforceable as of June 2001.
The Access Board standards that the Access Board set forth are designed to establish a minimum level of accessibility, and cover the full range of electronic and information technologies. There are six categories of technical standards: software applications and operating systems; web-based information or applications; telecommunication products; self-contained products (i.e. fax machines); and desktop and portable computers. Agencies must comply with these standards and anyone wishing to sell their products to the federal government must conform with them as well.
Here’s an overview of what the Access Board standards require to make web pages accessible with assistive technology.
Documents must be organized so that screen readers, like ZoomText, can speak them to the user (without dependencies on associated style sheets or other external formatting information). Page frames and tables must be titled with text, including row and column headers. Electronic forms must be designed to allow the user to access all the information and functionality. In other words, to allow the user to navigate, read and complete the form in an intelligent manner. When timed responses are required, the website must alert the user and provide a method to give them additional time if necessary. All graphics must have a text element to identify them. This element can be alternate text that appears when hovering the mouse over the graphic and also able to be spoken by a screen reader. Information conveyed with color, such as charts, graphs and data legends, must also be comprehensible without identification by color. If compliance cannot be established any other way, the web site must provide a link to a text-only page, but this is only as a last resort. At the present time, these standards only apply to federal websites and not to private sector sites, unless they are provided under a contract to a Federal agency. However, 18 states have already adopted 508 statutes, and at least one commercial site, www.target.com, has been sued for having an inaccessible site. Section 508 has begun its steady trickle into areas outside the government, and will hopefully continue this path with time. To read an interesting article outlining the future of Section 508, go to http://www.fcw.com/article96831-11-15-06-Web. For us at Ai Squared, we are making it a priority to be Section 508 compliant. We’ll keep you posted with our progress in future ZoomNews articles.
For more in depth information on all of the Access Board standards, please visit: http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=3.
