Section 508 and Why It Matters

Article updated: September 9, 2001

Web sites, applications, and anything that uses online information might be affected by this United States law.

By KATHARYN BINE
Washington, D.C. Chapter

What is Section 508?

• 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:

1. It makes good business sense.
   
   
2. You, a family member, a friend, or a colleague might need accessibility.
   
   
3. It’s good development.
   
   
4. 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 Consulting 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