508’s Accessible Electronic & Information Technology: States’ Enforcement Responsibilities

508--A Milestone in Disability Rights

In December 2000, the U.S. Access Board issued final standards for electronic and information technology, a two-year effort mandated by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

What is the Section 508 requirement? Equipment that is used when federal departments and agencies "develop, procure, and maintain” information must be accessible to people with disabilities. (Note: the provision we’ve come to know through working with the ADA, “undue burden” applies.)

The scope of 508 is huge, covering everything in the modern office:

• software applications and operating systems;
• Web based information and applications;
• telecommunication products;
• video and multimedia products;
• self contained, closed products (e.g., information kiosks, calculators, and fax machines); and
• desktop and portable computers.

Our friend and frequent collaborator June Kailes, a member of the Access Board during this period, is for the most part, pleased with the 508 standards. One area which was a disappointment was that 508 did not extend to state governments despite the best efforts of disability rights advocates.

States Are on Their Own

Some of our readers who are very learned will point out that providing assurance of 508 compliance is currently required of states, and they are right.

Our colleagues from the Association of Tech Act Projects (ATAP) clarify this point in an FAQ on its Web site www.ataporg.org/questions%20and%20answers.htm: For a state to receive Assistive Technology Act funds, it must provide an assurance of compliance with Section 508. All states and territories are receiving Tech Act funds. And all of them have submitted some form of Section 508 assurance. These assurances most frequently take the form of a simple statement with limited or no specifics regarding implementation. Note that the assurances were included in the states’ Tech Act applications.

You might ask what accountability methods are in place to make sure that a state is adhering to its 508 commitment. This is one of the frequently asked questions included in ATAP’s FAQ:

Q.  Is there an enforcement mechanism for the State assurance?

A.  The Department of Education in their guidance letters indicate that the AT Act does not require compliance with the enforcement provisions of Section 508. This seems to indicate that there is no administrative complaint process, injunctive relief, or civil action available to individuals with disabilities for enforcement.

As you can see, the states are, indeed, on their own. So, how are they doing? More to the point, how is your state doing?

Information is available. We can point you to three organizations which have collected information how the states are dealing with E&IT accessibility.

• Association of Tech Act Projects (ATAP) represents the projects funded through the Assistive Technology Act. Its mission is to collaborate with persons with disabilities and others at the national level to increase the availability and utilization of assistive technology devices and services for all individuals with disabilities in the United States and territories. Its url is www.ataporg.org.

      State Information Technology Access Laws And Policies: A Summary of Critical Features provides a thorough summary of state laws and policies as related to IT accessibility beyond Web accessibility; some states not included; narrative and table formats; last update not available; url: www.ataporg.org/text%20summary.htm

      Summary of State Information Technology Access Procurement Laws and Policies covers laws related to procurement of accessible information technology of a number, but not all, states; a generous amount of information; in table format; last update--varies by state (e.g., Arkansas--1999, California--2002); url: www.ataporg.org/IT%20Procurement.htm

• The Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC) provides accessibility training and technical assistance related to Section 508 as well as Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act, with efforts focusing on helping stakeholders--industry, state officials, trainers, and consumers--to understand the requirements of Sections 508 and 255 and to be successful in their efforts to develop, market, and buy accessible E&IT.  ITTAT  is located at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Its url is www.ittatc.org/about/index.cfm

      State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards and Other Resources Available On line: Related to Application Development, IT Procurement, and Public Hardware and State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards and Other Resources Available On line: Related to Web Sites are two reports developed in response to stakeholder-expressed interest in seeing examples of state E&I accessibility laws, policies, standards, and resources currently in place; findings based on an in-depth on-line search conducted from January to April 2000; urls: www.ittatc.org/laws/report_2.cfm and www.ittatc.org/laws/report_3.cfm

      Overview of State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards and Other Resources Available On line is the summary of the on-line search for state 508 laws, etc., described above; in table and narrative formats; url: www.ittatc.org/laws/stateLawAtGlance.cfm; last update--April 2003.

• RESNA Technical Assistance Project serves the state Tech Act grantees, assisting them in efforts to reduce barriers and to increase access to assistive technology (AT) devices and services for consumers. In addition, it provides technical assistance in areas related to universal design, state procurement actions, and funding of AT. Its url is www.resna.org/taproject/about/abstract.html

      Activities of the States Regarding Current and Planned Section 508 Activities provides information on most of the states, some in greater detail than others, perhaps reflecting that they have done more than others; narrative format; last updated--May 2002; url: www.resna.org/taproject/policy/initiatives/508/508Stateactions.htm       

      State Initiatives: Assistive Technology Act Projects' Legislation and Initiatives includes fairly involved descriptions of steps taken by nine states to meet 508 requirements; most include links to states’ 508 documents; narrative format; last update--November 2003; url: www.resna.org/taproject/policy/initiatives/508/atprojects.html#top

You will have noted after visiting the sites of these organizations that not only are the status reports of states vis a vis 508 compliance useful, but each organization’s site is loaded with excellent resource materials on assistive technology in general and information technology specifically--documents, tables, links, summaries, and more.

How did your state do? Not bad, but not nearly as strong as you would like? Next, we will describe how to institute a model accessible state E&IT legislation and standards.