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Section 508 specific services to government customers of E&IT services.

dataSpheric proudly supports Section 508 and our efforts to make America's public services available to all citizens, regardless of physical or other disability.

Download our S1194.22 Assessment.

Contents:

  1. Section 508 history and terminology in brief.
  2. Further Reading.
  3. How to tell if a website is Section 508 compliant.
  4. Problems with Section 508 compliance.

Section 508 history and terminology in brief.

The W3C (World Wide Web consortium) is the standards body of the internet. The W3C had started the WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) and produced the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), but these were not intended to be authoritative specifications.

 "The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first major legislative effort to secure an equal playing field for individuals with disabilities. This legislation provides a wide range of services for persons with physical and cognitive disabilities . Those disabilities can create significant barriers to full and continued employment, the pursuit of independent living, self-determination, and inclusion in American society. The Rehabilitation Act has been amended twice since its inception, once in 1993 and again in 1998. The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) administers the Act. Two Sections within the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, have impact on accessible Web design. These are Sections 504 and 508."

 "Section 508 of the act, as now amended, provides for us a blueprint of just what is intended in Section 504. Thus, Section 504 provides the context of the law and Section 508 provides the direction."

 "Section 508 outlines binding, enforceable standards that must be adhered to in order for E&IT products. All states receive funding under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998. To gain access to this funding, each state must assure the federal government they will implement all conditions of Section 508 within their state entities (including higher education). Many states have codified Section 508 to be state law (e.g., Arizona, Nebraska, and Wisconsin), which requires state institutions to comply with these requirements."

Source: the Web Accessibility Resource Planner

Further Reading.

Learn about Arizona Statewide Policy P130.

Learn more about Section 508.

Learn more about the World Wide Web Consortium.

Learn more about the Web Accessibility Initiative.

How to tell if a website is Section 508 compliant.

While it takes some expert opinion, notably from disabled persons themselves, there are some tools and standards that you can use to judge standards-compliant websites. The first thing to look for is valid code. The W3C has an online validation tool which you can use to check any website code. There is a similar validation tool for style sheets. The W3C icons you see on every page on this site provide this functionality for you. They are a universal symbol of professionally produced websites.

The next thing to look for is WCAG compliance. There are three levels of WCAG compliance, with level three being the highest. There is no automatic tool to check WCAG compliance, so you must understand the requirements and judge for yourself.

There are several automatic tools which attempt to verify Section 8 and website accessibility. Each of these has strengths and weaknesses. It must be remembered that the final judge of website accessibility is the disabled user themselves.

The Cynthia Says Portal. dataSpheric websites pass Cynthia testing, but to tell the truth, we don't like the Cynthia button that shows this. In all honesty, the picture looks like Martha Stewart made out of wax. Regardless of icon art, Cynthia is a fairly decent tool.

The Bobby tool is a partially automated compliance tester. Bobby will issue warnings and you determine their validity. Bobby is one of the tougher tests out there. For the layperson, Bobby can be used to compare websites or web developers. The more warnings from Bobby, the more likely the developer is to be insufficient.

If you require Section 508 compliance testing, consider our accessibility testing service.

Problems with Section 508 compliance.

We are increasingly seeing conflicts between common sense and Section 508. These are mainly generated by the following factors:

  1. Section 508 as a specification is 30 years old. Many new technologies have been created and many conventions have developed which render a literal reading of Section 508 moot.
  2. Section 508 is not intended as a website construction manual or a checklist, but as a set of specifications or requirements. Examples given are simply that, examples of a way to fulfill the requirements. Again, a literal reading is unhelpful.
  3. We have learned more from disabled persons since Section 508 was drafted. In certain cases, Section 508 is obsolete or outmoded.
  4. The concept of equivalency is sometimes by nature unhelpful our counter-productive, especially in the workplace.

A literal reading of Section 508 is not always appropriate.

Section 508 compliance therefore involves judgment, human input and growth. We occasionally make judgment calls that countermand specific Section 508 requirements. In these cases, our rational is well considered and we're ready to back up our decisions. When dataSpheric puts the Section 508 logos on your website, we've taken responsibility for your information delivery.

At dataSpheric, we rely on our technology, our experience, feedback from disabled users and good old fashioned common sense. We keep abreast of evolving W3C WAI recommendations. We converse with webmasters all over the world, sharing information and best practices.

Universal accessibility is a destination, but for us, it's also a journey.