Presentation: Rock Eagle 2011 - Section 508 Refresh
From Web Accessibility Group
Janet Sylvia, University of Georgia
Rock Eagle Annual Computing Conference Oct 26, 2011
What is Section 508?
- US Federal Law
- Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998
- States in part: “Electronic information and data must be equally accessible to individuals with and without disabilities.”
Section 508 covers
- 1194.21 Software Apps & Operating Systems
- 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet
- 1194.23 Telecommunications Products
- 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products
- 1194.25 Self-contained, Closed Products
- 1194.26 Desktop and Portable Computers
Why update?
- Changes in electronic technology
- Improvements in Assistive Technologies
Section 508 Refresh
- 2006-2008 TEITAC began work
- 2008-2010 US Access Board
- 2010 March, 1st Draft released
- 2010 June, Public Comments closed
- 2011 Sept, expected 2nd Draft
- 2011 Dec, revised release date
How to receive updates
- Join UGA Web Accessibility Group (WAG) listserv to:
- Receive updates as released
- Discuss compliance requirements
- Provide links to new resources
Email Alerts
- Available from U.S. Access Board, select this link to Sign-up [1]
W3C WCAG 2.0
- International guidelines
- Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0)
- Updates released Dec 2008
- Some harmonization, but also some significant differences from the Section 508 Refresh 1st Draft
- Note: 1st Draft of Refresh harmonization: 26 Level A items, 7 Level AA items and 1 Level AAA item
Which do we comply with?
- Existing Section 508
- Section 508 Refresh (in-process)
- WCAG 2.0
- BOR requires compliance with 508, endorses compliance with WCAG 2.0, policy is available at Web Accessibility and Persons with Disabilities
Standards and Guidelines Comparison
- Section 508 Refresh – 1st Draft only
- WCAG 2.0 – published 2008
- Comparison Chart: Harmonization of TEITAC recommendations and WCAG 2.0
What kinds of changes can we expect?
- Based on 1st Draft which will be updated early December 2011
- Changes in content and structure
- Evenso, we can understand what to expect from the 1st Draft
Section 508 Refresh (1st Draft)
- 1194.21 Software Apps & Operating Systems
- 1194.22 Web based Intranet and Internet
- Section 255 of Telecommunications Act
Why Include Section 255?
- 255 Accessibility of telecommunications-related equipment and services
- 255 Documentation on web so user guides, web-based billing covered under 508
- 508 Web-based products now include telecommunications-like functions, such as real-time text communication and VOIP Section 508 Refresh
Section 508 Refresh (1st Draft)
- Title change from: Electronic and Information Technology Standards (EIT)
- To: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines
Section 508 Refresh
- Sections consolidated or dropped
- d) Readable without style sheet
- e) Server-side image maps
- f) Client-side image maps
- k) Text-only page (Dropped?)
- l) Scripting languages
- m) Applets, plug-ins
- o) Skip repetitive links
Section 508 Refresh (1st Draft)
- Focus on USABLE accessibility vs. technical compliance only
- Section 508 Refresh and WCAG 2.0 both focus on usable accessibility
- WCAG 2.0 Four Guiding Principles: Perceivable, Operable. Understandable. Robust
Usable Accessibility
- Technical requirement: ALT text is provided for an image
- Usable Accessibility: ALT text provides brief, concise statement that includes important visual cues Usable Accessibility
Usable Accessibility
- Technical compliance: img src=“tate1950.jpg” alt=“Tate Student Center”
- Usable compliance: img src=“tate1950.jpg” alt=“Interior of Tate Student Center with 3-story open staircase in center of building”
Usable Accessibility
- “Although good standards are important, it’s really about the user experience. That means more than just removing barriers. We have to think about the personas for different types of disabilities and how to give them as good an experience as anyone else.” - Mike Paciello, The Paciello Group
- “Many times focusing on standards and guidelines puts the focus on the technical aspects of accessibility, and the human interaction aspect is lost.Consciously addressing ‘usable accessibility’ helps clarify the difference between what meets minimum accessibility standards and what is usable by people with disabilities.” Shawn Lawton Henry, W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
- “Problems often come from trying to make a web site accessible without understanding how people with disabilities actually use the web.”
- WebAIM Video: People with Disabilities on the Web
Section 508 Refresh (1st Draft)
- 1st Draft: Chapters with standards dispersed throughout (2nd Draft will contain changes in content and structure)
- Chapter 1 508 and Chapter 1 for 255: Application and Admin
- Functional Performance
- Common Functionality (New)
- Platforms, Apps, Interactive
- Electronic Documents (New)
- Synchronized Media Content & Players
- Hardware
- Audio Output from Hardware
- Conversation Functionality and Controls
- ICT Support Docs and Services
Chapter 5 Electronic Documents (1st Draft)
- 501 Scope: HTML that does not include Flash, Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, etc
- 502 Non-text content
- 503 Adaptable presentation of content
- 504 Distinguishable presentation of content
- 505 Navigation and orientation
- 506 Readability
- 507 Input assistance
- 508 Compatible technologies
Chapter 6 Synchronized Media Content and Players (1st Draft)
- 601 General
- 602 Video or audio with interactive elements
- 603 Captions and transcripts for audio
- 604 Video description and transcripts for video
- 605 Caption processing technology
- 606 Video description processing technology
- 607 User controls for captions and video descriptions
- 608 Audio track and volume controls
Resource List
- The following Resources can be found at the UGA Web Accessibility Group (WAG) Wiki
- Training: WebAIM Section 508 Checklist, WebAIM’s WCAG 2.0 Checklist
- Additional Resources: Section 508 Refresh, Web Accessibility and Persons with Disabilities (BOR policy on 508 compliance)
Contact Information
Janet Sylvia, OCTS – College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia. Janet is also Co-Leader of UGA Web Accessibility Group (WAG) and Web Accessibility Trainer. Email jsylvia@uga.edu
