Section 508
Section 508 is an amendment to the Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requiring that information and electronic technology developed or purchased by the Federal Government is comparably accessible for individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities. The law states that comparable access should be ensured, unless there is undue burden to the agency of department.
Section 508 provides standards for electronic and information technology. These standards provide a clear definition of accessibility that can be used as criteria by which to judge whether an information resource is accessible or not.
Tools are available that use these standards to evaluate web pages for Section 508 compliance. These include Wave and Bobby. These tools are individual web pages to which the url of the web site to be evaluated is submitted. Each of these validation resources returns an assessment of compliance with Section 508 via the browser.
It is always best to include accessibility concepts early in web page design, rather than to make corrections after a page is in an advanced stage of development. Below is a partial Section 508 list of the main requirements that can be used as a reminder for web page design.
Things to keep in mind for compliance with Section 508 when designing a web page:
- Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (use the alt tag).
- Alternatives to multimedia must be synchronized with the presentation.
- Information conveyed with color must also be conveyed without color.
- Materials must be readable without requiring a style sheet.
- Redundant text links must be provided for server-side image maps.
- Client-side maps must be standard and use alt tags for images and hot spots.
- All row and column headers must be identified in data tables.
- Data cells must be associated to headers.
- Frames must be titled for identification and navigation.
- There must not be any flickering elements between 2 and 55 cycles per second.
- A text only alternative to the web page should be provided when it’s the only means to achieve compliance, provided that updates are made at the same time as the primary page.
- When a plug-in is required, a link must be provided to a location where it is available
- Forms shall be usable with assistive technologies.
- Features that allow avoidance of repetitive navigation links must be provided (e.g. skip over lengthy menus).
- User must have control over content changes.
- All applications present in the web page (e.g. an applet, plug-in, or a script) must be either usable with assistive technologies or made accessible by some other means. These applications must not interfere with navigation, or disrupt any feature in a way that reduces accessibility.
Links
Section 508 Home
(http://www.section508.gov)
Full Text of the
Rehabilitation Act Amendments (Section 508)
(http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/act.htm)
