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Resources for Accessible Web Design and Section 508

Updated: 5/21/2010

I. Federal and State Laws, Policies, Regulations and Guidelines

• Section 508 Statute (29 U.S.C. § 794d)
  Part of the 1998 amendments to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
  
  
• Section 508 regulations (36 CFR 1194)
  Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards released by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
  
  
• Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)
  Final FAR Rule for Implementing Section 508 of the Rehab Act Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, as published in the Federal Register April 25, 2001.
  
  
• Guide to the Section 508 Standards for Electronic and Information Technology
  This guide was produced by the Access Board. The purpose of this technical assistance document is to ensure successful implementation of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d).
  
  
• Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130
  This document contains excerpts from the Federal government's policy directive for promoting the application of technology to improve the use and dissemination of information by Federal agencies. It states that Federal information must be made accessible to members of the public with disabilities.
  
  
• Managing Information Resources for Accessibility
  This manual, prepared by GSA's Center on Information Technology Accommodation ("CITA"), covers policy issues and practical concerns for information accessibility to accommodate users with disabilities. This manual also includes clauses from non-binding Federal Information Resources Management Regulations (FIRMR) addressing procurement of accessible technology.
  
  
• Requirements for Accessible Electronic and Information Technology Design
  The Department of Education has established software requirements that it is now using in all of its contracts to ensure the accessibility of its programs and activities to individuals with disabilities.
  
  
• Kentucky Accessible Information Technology (AIT) Statute
  Kentucky Statute requiring state compliance with Section 508.
  
  

II. Free Tools and Guidance on Accessible Web Design

• Section 508 Web Tutorial
  Jim Thatcher designed this free tutorial on how to make you web pages accessible according to the Section 508 Standards.
  
  
• Web & Multimedia Resources for Developers
  A list of resources compiled by the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
  
  
• WebAIM’s Section 508 Checklist
  The guidelines provided are excerpted from Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, §1194.22. The checklist represents an interpretation of Section 508 web standards and is NOT official Section 508 documentation. For the full text of Section 508, please visit Official government 508 web site
  
  
• A-Prompt Web Accessibility Verifier
  A-Prompt (Accessibility Prompt) is a software tool designed to help Web authors improve the usability of Web pages created in HTML format.
  Note: This product was discontinued in 2007. The A-Prompt Web Accessibility Checker is still available for free download and runs under Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP.  A-Prompt has been replaced by the free Online Web Accessibility Checker listed directly below.
  
  
• Online Web Accessibility Checker
  This tool checks single HTML pages for conformance with accessibility standards to ensure the content can be accessed by everyone.
  
  
• WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
  WAVE is a free web accessibility evaluation tool provided by WebAIM. It is used to aid humans in the web accessibility evaluation process. Rather than providing a complex technical report, WAVE shows the original web page with embedded icons and indicators that reveal the accessibility of that page.
  
  
• HiSoftware’s Cynthia Says Portal
  The HiSoftware Cynthia Says portal is a free web content accessibility validation solution designed to identify errors in your content related to Section 508 standards and/or the WCAG guidelines.
  
  
• HTML2TXT
  Originally known as "lynx-me", this utility shows you what a Web page looks like in a text browser.
  
  
• W3C’s List of Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools
  This is a collection of information about Evaluation, Repair, and Transform Tools used by Web content developers and users to make the Web more accessible.
  
  
• W3C's Techniques For Accessibility Evaluation And Repair Tools
  This document describes techniques that Web accessibility validation tools may use to evaluate the conformance of HTML documents to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0). This document also describes techniques that Web authoring tools may use to help authors modify HTML documents to conform to WCAG 1.0.
  
  
• HTML Tidy
  This is a program designed to clean up html code-messy code can impede or block access technologies.
  
  
• Creating Accessible Adobe PDF and Flash
  A collection of resources, documentation, tutorials and blogs from Adobe related to how to create accessible PDF documents and Flash web pages.
  
  

III. Commercially Available Section 508 Repair and Verification Tools

• HiSoftware’s Developers Desktop Solutions
  HiSoftware Developers Desktop Solutions include: AccRepair, AccVerify, and Hi-Caption. This collection of tools enables you to verify and repair content for compliance with standards-based and organizational policies for site accessibility, usability, privacy, and maintenance.
  
  
• IBM Rational® Web site compliance solutions
  Formerly known as Watchfire Corporation’s Watchfire Bobby program, this software is now available as part of IBM's Rational Policy Tester Accessibility Edition.
  
  

IV. Commercially Available Accessible Web Design Online Training Programs

• EASI Accessible Web Design Workshops
  EASI has been providing several online workshops that focus on adaptive computing technology, creating accessible web pages, learning disabilities and access to the disciplines of science, engineering, and math.
  
  

V. Government Sources of General Information about Section 508 and IT Accessibility

• U.S. Access Board
  The Access Board is responsible for developing standards for compliance with Section 508. In addition, the Access Board has developed accessibility standards for other Federal legislation.
  
  
• Department of Justice, Section 508 Home Page
  The Justice Department is responsible for enforcement issues relating to Section 508.
  
  
• Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
  For a resource on making IT accessible in the workplace, see the page "Technology and People with Disabilities"
  
  
• GSA, IT Accessibility and Workforce (ITAW)
  GSA’s IT Accessibility and Workforce (ITAW) provides assistive technology solutions to eliminate barriers for people with disabilities. ITAW’s Assistive Technology (AT) Showcase displays state-of-the-art assistive technologies and ergonomic solutions.
  ITAW is the government’s principal advocate and coordinator for Section 508 implementation that requires agencies to make information technology accessible for people with disabilities. ITAW is recognized as the government wide policy resource for Section 508.
  
  
• USDA, TARGET (Technology Accessible Resources Gives Employment Today)
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Technology Accessible Resources Gives Employment Today (TARGET) Center to support the department with assistive technology and ergonomic solutions.
  The TARGET Center provides the TARGET Discovery Series online trainings on accessibility, ergonomics, Assistive Technology and Section 508 Compliance. This training series is free and open to the public. The Target Discovery Series trainings are also archived for later viewing.
  
  

VI. Non-Government Sources of General Information about Section 508 and IT Accessibility

• World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
  The Web Accessibility Initiative works with other organizations for the development of web accessibility standards (including guidelines for page authoring) and educates, researches, and develops web accessibility standards.
  
  
• Trace Research and Development Center
  The Trace Research and Development Center addresses web accessibility and includes information about the compatibility of browsers with adaptive hardware and software. The Trace Center also provides links to other organizations involved in the development of standards for accessible website design.
  
  
• Center for Applied Special Technology ("CAST")
  CAST is an educational, not-for-profit organization that uses technology to expand opportunities for all people, including those with disabilities. CAST maintains a dynamic website called "Bobby" that analyzes web pages currently on the Internet for their compliance with web accessibility standards and provides a summary of any problems that may be encountered by visitors to the website.
  
  
• IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center
  IBM has developed and collected useful information for ensuring that computer information is accessible to persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Microsoft Web Accessibility Resources
  Provides information outlining ways to use Microsoft Active Accessibility and provides resources including guidelines, tools, and other materials.
  
  

VII. Telecommunications Access

• Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines
  The Access Board has developed guidelines for compliance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. These standards include design features that affect the usability of telecommunications equipment by persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Federal Communication Commission Closed Captioning Rules
  Pursuant to Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act, the Federal Communications Commission has required closed captioning of televised information and has encouraged use of EIA-608 standards for closed captioned programs.
  
  

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Copyright © 2008-2010 KATS Network
The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (Grant #H224A090017), Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as Amended
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