| Section 508 Amendment To The Rehabilitation Act Of 1973 |
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| accessibility | |
| computer accessibility | |
| web accessibility | |
| united states federal civil rights legislation | |
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HISTORY Section 508 was originally added as an amendment to The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in 1986 . The original Section 508 was added to The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to prevent employment discrimination by parties having contracts with the U.S. Federal Government and by programs and activities receiving Federal funding. The original section 508 dealt with electronic and information technologies, in recognition of the growth of this field. In 1997, The Federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility and Compliance Act was proposed in the U.S. legislature to correct the shortcomings of the original section 508; the original Section 508 had turned out to be mostly ineffective, in part due to the lack of enforcement mechanisms. In the end, this Federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility and Compliance Act, with revisions, was enacted as the ''new'' Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in 1998. THE LAW ''Section 508'' requires that electronic and information technology developed, procured, used, or maintained by all agencies and departments of the Federal Government be Accessible both to Federal employees with disabilities and to members of the public with disabilities, and that these two groups have equal use of such technologies as federal employees and members of the public that do not have disabilities. Qualifications
Provisions The original legislation mandated that the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, known as the Access Board , establish a draft for their Final Standards for accessibility for such electronic and information technologies in December 2001. The final standards were approved in April 2001 and became enforceable on June 25, 2001. The latest information about these standards and about support available from the Access Board in implementing them, as well as, the results of surveys conducted to assess compliance is available from the Board's newsletter Access Currents . The Section 508 Standards, tools, and resources are available from The Center for Information Technology Accommodation (CITA), in the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Government-wide Policy at section508.gov . SUMMARY OF SECTION 508 TECHNICAL STANDARDS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
:No, it is not. The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 is a different piece of legislation. Section 508 is an amendment to The Rehabilitation Act Of 1973 . Section 504 of the original Rehabilitation Act laid some of the groundwork for the ADA in the areas of rehabilitation, training and employment of disabled people.
:They are not the same, but they are related. These WAI guidelines were considered in establishing the Access Boards Standards, as well as other resources. But the W3C 's Web Content Accessibilies Guidelines are completely voluntary. On the other hand, the Section 508 Standards are enforceable as law and there are monetary penalties for non-compliance to the Access Board Standards. Under Section 508, covered parties alleging discrimination may institute civil suits based on alleged damages and, if successful, receive monetary awards.
: Yes, many people with disabilities view this as the next big push in the accessiblity movement. As a society we build ramps and elevators in lieu of stairs, and now industry experts and disability rights activists agree -- it is time to build ramps to information and electronic technology (E&IT). Many accessibility compliance leaders, such as Debra Ruh of TecAccess hires the very population that faces technological barriers on a daily basis. In this fashion, employees with disabilities, hired to test for Section 508 compliance, are encouraged to use their unique perspective to help others improve the accessibility of technology so that it is universally friendly for everyone -- disability or not. The socially conscious, legal, and pro-business effects of accessible design are just beginning to be felt worldwide.
: The portion of Section 508 which specifically relates to websites is under Sub-part B, 1194.22 that they intend to initiate an update to these standards during the summer. SEE ALSO REFERENCES # Section 508 Official Web Site #[http://webxact.watchfire.com WebXACT - Section 508 Compliance testing] # Section 508 compliance testing & solutions performed by persons with disabilities # JimThatcher.com - Section 508 Web Accessibility Tutorial EXTERNAL LINKS
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