A Guide to Section 508 Laws, Regulations, and Policies

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:

For procurements, the amended Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was
published April 25, 2001, to implement Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973. Subsection 508(a)(3) requires the FAR to be revised to incorporate
standards developed by the Access Board.

Policy

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.