{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Celebrating the 18th Anniversary of the Section 508 Rehabilitation Act |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Celebrating the 18th Anniversary of the Section 508 Rehabilitation Act",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/08/15/celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Celebrating the 18th Anniversary of the Section 508 Rehabilitation Act","summary" : "August 8, 2016, marks the 18th anniversary of the amendment to the Section 508 Rehabilitation Act of 1973. To recognize the importance of IT accessibility, we wanted to highlight some agency initiatives to improve accessibility across the federal landscape.","date" : "2016-08-15T11:00:03-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"apiazza" : "Alycia Piazza"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "product-and-project-management" : "Product and project management",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2016-08-15-celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/08/2016-08-15-celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/08/2016-08-15-celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/08/2016-08-15-celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act.md","slug" : "celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/08/15/celebrating-the-18th-anniversary-of-section-508-rehabilitation-act/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eAugust 8, 2016, marks the 18th anniversary of the amendment to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.section508.gov/section-508-of-the-rehabilitation-act\" title=\"Section 508 Rehabilitation Act of 1973\"\u003eSection 508 Rehabilitation Act of 1973\u003c/a\u003e, which covers access to information technology in the federal sector. To recognize the importance of IT accessibility, we wanted to highlight some agency initiatives to improve accessibility across the federal landscape.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/08/600-x-400-18th-Cake-robynmac-iStock-Thinkstock-105487856.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A red, white, and blue celebration cake with two lit candles, a one and an eight, for the number 18.\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003erobynmac/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs amended, the Act requires:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e…access to the federal government’s electronic and information technology. It applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use such technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and the public to the extent it does not pose an “undue burden.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause agency websites are one of the most common ways the public accesses government information, measurement is an ongoing process that requires focused, dedicated resources and human oversight. Several agencies have created their own \u003ca href=\"https://section508.gov/agency-shared-guidance\" title=\"accessibility implementation guides\"\u003eaccessibility implementation guides\u003c/a\u003e and tools to promote equal access of government websites.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"agency-resources\"\u003eAgency Resources\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Dept. of Health and Human Services shares their Section 508 plans and milestones on the public internet for everyone to see. This includes \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/checklist/\" title=\"checklists\"\u003echecklists\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/training-in-508/index.html\" title=\"training\"\u003etraining\u003c/a\u003e, and a \u003ca href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/index.html\" title=\"compliance and remediation section\"\u003ecompliance and remediation section\u003c/a\u003e which displays their website accessibility “leaderboard.” Several other agencies share similar information, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.ssa.gov/accessibility/508_overview.html\" title=\"Social Security Administration 508 Overview\"\u003eSocial Security Administration\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/accessibility\" title=\"DHS accessibility notice\"\u003eDept. of  Homeland Security\u003c/a\u003e, to name a few.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\"\u003e\n  \u003cb\u003eFebruary 2016 to July 2016 Scores*\u003c/b\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e Excellent- 90% and above\u003cbr /\u003e Needs Improvement- 75 to 89.99%\u003cbr /\u003e Poor- 74.99% and below\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Agency\u003cbr /\u003e Name\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Feb\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Mar\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Apr\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      May\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Jun\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003cth style=\"text-align: center\" scope=\"col\"\u003e\n      Jul\u003cbr /\u003e 2016\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      ACF\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.59%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.19%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.66%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      93.88%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      93.47%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.41%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      ACL\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      99.13%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      99.13%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      99.18%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      99.34%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      99.25%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      98.99%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      AHRQ\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.32%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.15%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.24%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.93%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.64%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.86%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      CDC\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      97.44%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      97.13%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.30%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.45%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.21%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.49%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      CMS\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      86.55%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      86.52%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      84.66%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      87.69%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      89.09%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      89.26%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      FDA\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.55%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.62%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.14%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.56%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.61%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.53%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      HRSA\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.51%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.12%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.75%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.07%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      93.93%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.10%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      IHS\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      82.51%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      82.47%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      84.25%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      81.32%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #ffdcdb;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      72.18%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      75.64%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      NIH\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      93.52%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.15%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.30%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.45%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      93.39%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      90.66%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      OS\u003cbr /\u003e (includes PRIORITY)\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.17%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.14%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.36%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.71%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.32%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      92.41%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      OS\u003cbr /\u003e PRIORITY\u003cbr /\u003e (break-out)\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      96.76%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.25%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.81%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      95.73%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      94.02%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      SAMHSA\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #c4f8af;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      91.86%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      89.18%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      89.63%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      88.75%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      81.21%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n    \u003ctd style=\"background: #fffca6;text-align: right\"\u003e\n      79.24%\n    \u003c/td\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n  \u003ctr\u003e\n    \u003cth colspan=\"7\" scope=\"row\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n      \u003cem\u003e* This is partial data for the last 6 months; please \u003ca title=\"View 508 Compliance Leaderboards\" href=\"http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/leaderboards/index.html\"\u003evisit HHS’s site\u003c/a\u003e for the full year, August 2015 to July 2016.\u003c/em\u003e\n    \u003c/th\u003e\n  \u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s also worth noting that the CIO Council’s active \u003ca href=\"https://cio.gov/about/groups/accessibility-cop/\" title=\"Accessibility Community of Practice\"\u003eAccessibility Community of Practice (CIOC ACOP)\u003c/a\u003e has developed a \u003ca href=\"http://section508.gov/content/it-accessibility-playbook\" title=\"Technology Accessibility Playbook\"\u003eTechnology Accessibility Playbook\u003c/a\u003e. In the words of \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov\" title=\"Section 508 website\"\u003eSection508.gov\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModeled after the \u003ca href=\"https://playbook.cio.gov/\" title=\"Digital Services Playbook\"\u003eDigital Services Playbook\u003c/a\u003e, the Technology Accessibility Playbook provides twelve plays that, if followed together, will help the government ensure its information and communications technology is fully accessible to disabled employees and members of the public. The plays outline a sustainable approach to supporting full inclusion through technology, and provide a framework for strategic planning and defining program maturity capabilities needed within each agency.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother collaborative initiative we want to highlight is the \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/improving-the-accessibility-of-social-media-in-government/\" title=\"Improving the Accessibility of Social Media Toolkit\"\u003eImproving the Accessibility of Social Media Toolkit\u003c/a\u003e. This toolkit was developed by many agencies and just recently updated by the Dept. of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, and the FCC.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"testing\"\u003eTesting\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDHS leads the government’s Interagency Trusted Tester Program (ITTP). The TT takes a harmonized, repeatable, scalable, code‐inspection‐based approach to determine software and website conformance to the Section 508 standards by \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Trusted_Tester_Fact_Sheet_0.pdf\" title=\"Trusted Tester Fact Sheet PDF file\"\u003etraining individuals to become trusted testers\u003c/a\u003e (\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/08/application-pdf.png\"\n    alt=\"PDF icon\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n 160KB PDF). Not only does the federal government then have a reliable set of testers who can address key Section 508 areas, but it also promotes a common understanding of the 508 standards and a common testing process developers can code to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are very excited about the strides made to allow all citizens easier access to government information throughout 2016, and we look forward to the new tools, training and innovations in accessibility coming in 2017. What is YOUR agency doing to makes strides with accessibility?\u003cem\u003eTo view PDF documents, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader app, available for multiple operating systems and devices:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesktop app\u003c/strong\u003e: Visit the \u003ca href=\"http://get.adobe.com/reader/\" title=\"Download Acrobat Reader for your computer\"\u003eAcrobat Reader download page\u003c/a\u003e to get Reader for your desktop. Once there, you can select your language, operating system, and connection speed.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMobile app\u003c/strong\u003e: To download this app, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader\" title=\"Download Acrobat Reader for Android mobile devices\"\u003eGoogle Play\u003c/a\u003e or the \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/app/adobe-reader/id469337564?mt=8\" title=\"Download Acrobat Reader for Apple mobile devices\"\u003eiTunes App Store\u003c/a\u003e. You can also download the latest version of the mobile app for \u003ca href=\"http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=134e363e-8811-44be-b1e3-d8a0c60d4692\" title=\"Download Acrobat Reader for Windows mobile devices\"\u003eWindows Phone\u003c/a\u003e devices.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
  ]
}