Internal USGS Access Only

Section 508, an extension of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Section 508 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requiring that electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the Federal government be accessible to people with disabilities.

This is a much bigger scope than just web pages.

1. On August 7, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which includes the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998.
2. As of August 7, 2000 any individual with a disability may file a complaint alleging that a Federal agency fails to comply with section 508 in providing accessible electronic and information technology.
3. On December 21, 2000, the Access Board, which bears responsibility for defining the requirements, issued final standards for electronic and information technology which apply to government sites and sites of companies doing business with the federal government.
4. Beginning June 21, 2001, all Federal agencies must ensure that they are in compliance with Section 508.

There are no financial remedies for a citizen if a government web site is found not to be Section 508 compliant.

Section 508, Section 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications closely mirrors the World Wide Web Consortium WAI Priority 1 requirements, which were already in existence, with a few clarifications and omissions in the interests of practicality and legal enforcement.

As per the Access Board Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards

• Electronic Information created by the USGS government which has been created or modified after June 21, 2001 must be section 508 compliant.
• Previously created content is exempt unless modified.
• This applies to internally distributed information as well as public information.

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"Mastering a Web Site" online course Created and maintained by Lorna Schmid and David Boldt. http://water.usgs.gov/usgs/training/webmaster/section508.html     Last modified: Tue Nov 18 17:31:24 EST 2003