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Understanding the Importance of Section 508

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2008 Presentation Highlights About Anna Bradley, M.S., Ed.S. Understanding Section 508 Disabilities in America Barriers Accessibility & Assistive Technology Accessibility Litigation Section 508 Standard: Web-based Intranet and

Internet Information 1194.22 Questions

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About Anna Bradley, M.S., Ed.S. Anna has more than 15 years experience in executive management and

eLearning consultation services and is a graduate of Drake University where she earned both Masters and Specialist graduate degrees and completed Drake University's Doctoral program in Educational Leadership. Anna is a member of The National Center on Disability & Access to Education (NCDAE) Policy Implementation Advisory Panel and was recently appointed to the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development Advisory Committee.

2007 Awards and Recognitions Include: 2007 - Featured in February Issue of Inc. Magazine 2007 - Deb Dalziel Woman Entrepreneur Achievement Award (Iowa SBDC) 2007 - Recognized by a joint resolution of the Iowa Senate and House of

Representatives 2007 - Iowa Commission of Persons with Disabilities – Iowa Entrepreneur of

the Year Award 2007 - Xplor (Worldwide Electronic Document Systems Association)

Innovator of the Year Award

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Understanding Section 508 Compliance

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Understanding Section 508 Compliance In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act

to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

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Understanding Section 508 Compliance The law applies to all Federal agencies when they

develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. ` 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others.

Currently, 30 states have adopted their own accessible procurement policies based on Section 508 standards.

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Understanding Section 508 Compliance Creates enforceable provisions. Must be followed when Federal agencies develop or

acquire electronic and information technology (EIT)—making it a procurement issue.

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Section 508 Compliance and E&IT What is E&IT Electronic or Information technology that is used to

electronically: create, convert, or duplicate information.

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Section 508 Applies To Software applications and operating systems Web-based internet information and applications Telecommunications products Video and multimedia products Self-contained, closed products Desktop and portable computers Electronic documents and archives

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Section 508 Compliance Exceptions Undue burden National Security Agency Critical to the direct fulfillment of military or

intelligence missions Weapons or weapons systems Acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract Back room/office

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Section 508 Impact on Federal Procurement Government agencies are responsible for

complying with Section 508. Those selling EIT to the Federal government are

responsible for designing and manufacturing Section 508 compliant products.

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Who Is Responsible For Enforcing Section 508? Individuals with disabilities can:

file complaints with agencies they believe to be in violation of section 508, or

file private lawsuits in Federal district court. Federal agencies are required to provide

procedures for resolving complaints by individuals.

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What are Federal Section 508 Reporting Requirements? Section 508 requires the Department of Justice to

report to the Congress and the President on the Federal government’s progress in complying with Section 508.

Documentation becomes part of contracting file in order to justify procurement decision.

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Section 508 Accessibility Involves Two Key Issues1. How users with disabilities access electronic

information. For the user with a disability, the challenge is to

identify assistive devices that provide the most convenient access to electronic information.

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Section 508 Accessibility Involves Two Key Issues2. How electronic information functions with assistive

devices used by individuals with disabilities. For the electronic information provider, the

challenge is to remove the obstacles that prevent accessibility tools from functioning effectively.

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Disabilities in America

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Disabilities in America 1 in 5 have some kind of disability. 1 in 10 have a severe disability. 50% of seniors (65 yrs+) have a disability. 13 million people use assistive technology. 52% of people with disabilities are active in the U.S.

workforce. Remember, what is and is not a disability is

sometimes relative.

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Disabilities in America In order of highest occurrence:

Hearing and Vision Loss: 3.6% Learning Disabilities: 4.8% Mobility Impairment: 6.8% Other Disabilities: 4.1% Percent of Population with Disabilities: 19.3% or

49.6 Million People

Source: 2001U.S. Census Report

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Visual Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

Blindness Weak vision Tunnel vision Dimness Extreme near- or far-sightedness Color blindness

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Visual Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

9.2 million are visually impaired. 1.3 million are legally blind. 1.5 million blind / visually impaired use computers. Less than 12% of blind students use Braille as their

primary reading medium.

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Mobility Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

Repetitive stress injuries (RSI) Arthritis Stroke Spinal cord injuries ALS Loss of limbs or digits

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Auditory Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

Deaf Hard of hearing High/low frequency hearing loss

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Cognitive Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

Learning Disabilities Head Injuries Autism Low Functioning to High Functioning Mental

Disabilities Mental Illness

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Barriers to Accessibility & Assistive Technology – Interactive Exercises

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What are Assistive Technologies?

Screen Magnifier

Foot Switch

Joy Stick

Sip Puff Switch Speech Recognition

Soft Switch

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Accessibility Barriers for People with Visual Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Images, image maps Scientific notation, math formulas Navigation, frames Tables Forms Multimedia (sound & video) JavaScripts and programming code Electronic documents without structure

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Assistive Technology for People with Visual Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Screen readers Screen magnification Refreshable Braille displays Voice recognition

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Accessibility Barriers for People with Auditory Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Multimedia features which include sound but no

synchronized captioning Error, information, system or application messages

displayed through audible cues

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Assistive Technology for People with Auditory Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Text captioning TTY

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Accessibility Barriers for People with Mobility Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Manipulation of input devices, including the

keyboard and mouse Difficulty holding down multiple keyboard keys

simultaneously

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Assistive Technology for People with Mobility Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Keyboard controls Alternative/adaptive keyboards and mice Onscreen keyboards and mouse emulation

programs Breath control devices Voice input/recognition Head pointing/tracking devices

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Accessibility Barriers for People with Cognitive Disabilities – Interactive Exercises

Screen Time Out Dense Content “Wall of Words” Inappropriate Use of Colors

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Assistive Technology for People with Cognitive Disabilities – Interactive Exercises Touch Screens Color Coded Keyboards Picture Keyboards

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Accessibility Litigation

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Successful Award Protest Shows Section 508 Has Teeth - CourtSmart Digital Systems, Inc. Too often in life, companies make decisions to be penny wise. As the

saying goes, those decisions may end up being "penny wise, but pound foolish". A prime example can be found in the recent decision CourtSmart Digital Systems, Inc., 2004 WL 816361, *1+, B-292995.2, 292995.2+ (Comp.Gen. Feb. 13, 2004).

On September 30th, SSA placed its order with York for 1,470 systems to be used on a nationwide basis to record hearings and appeals regarding applications for SSA disability benefits. Soon thereafter, CourtSmart protested the award.

The result of the protest was that York's order was canceled, the costs and attorney fees of CourtSmart's protest were reimbursed, the RFQ was amended or reissued and a new source selection was made. A primary reason for this ruling is that Section 508 compliance is mandatory and the successful vendor (York) was neither Section 508 compliant by the time it made its application nor by the time of the award, whereas CourtSmart was already Section 508 compliant.

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Accessibility Litigation Corporate Sector - Eliot Spitzer Agreement To Make Websites Accessible

October 2004: Within the past month the application of Title III of the ADA to publicly offered services beyond their physical structures was solidified in a settlement reached between New York State's Attorney General's office and two websites, Ramada.com and Priceline.com. The settlement was reached because complaints had been filed over the accessibility for disabled persons of the websites of these two private entities. Following the settlement, a press release was issued to explain the purpose and results of the settlement.

Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General, said "Accessible web sites are the wave of the future and the right thing to do. We applaud these companies for taking responsible and proper steps to make their web sites accessible to the blind and visually impaired. We urge all companies who have not done so to follow their lead." The ADA generally dictates that all "places of public accommodation" and all "goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations" of places of public accommodation, must be made accessible to disabled citizens, absent undue hardship. New York law provides similar civil rights protections.

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Accessibility Litigation Corporate Sector Access Now vs. Barnes & Nobles:

Settled out of court. Access Now vs. Claire’s Stores:

Settled out of court.

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Accessibility Litigation Corporate Sector 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago:

Chief Justice Posner said in a nonbinding dictum that the ADA applies to Web sites. "The core meaning of this provision, plainly enough, is that the owner or operator of a store, hotel, restaurant, dentist's office, travel agency, theater, Web site or other facility (whether in physical space or in electronic space) that is open to the public cannot exclude disabled persons from entering the facility and, once in, from using the facility in the same way that the nondisabled do," Posner wrote in Doe et al. v. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co.

1999 U.S. District Judge Edward C. Prado:In a case styled Hooks v. Okbridge in U.S. District Court in San Antonio, wrote, "If there is no physical structure or facility, there is no place of public accommodation and Title III of the ADA is not applicable."

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Accessibility Litigation Corporate Sector – Target.com A blind UC Berkeley student has filed a class-action lawsuit against

Target Corp., saying the retailer is committing civil-rights violations because its Web site is inaccessible to those who cannot see.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court, said the upscale discounter's on-line business, target.com, denies blind Californians equal access to goods and services available to those who can see.

"Target thus excludes the blind from full and equal participation in the growing Internet economy that is increasingly a fundamental part of daily life," said the suit, which seeks to be certified as a class action and alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and various state statutes.

September 2006, a federal judge in California held that the National Federation of the Blind could sue Target Corporation for its maintenance of a inaccessible website. National Federation of the Blind et. al. v. Target Corporation, Case. NO. C 06-01802, N. D. CA (September 6, 2006).

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Applying What You Have Learned: Understanding Section 508 Standards (1194.22)

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element

shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).

(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.

(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (d) Documents shall be organized so they are

readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.

(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.

(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells

and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.

(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.

(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or

functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-

in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l).

(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

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Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) (o) A method shall be provided that permits users to

skip repetitive navigation links. (p) When a timed response is required, the user

shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.

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Questions?

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Thank You!