Federal agencies clearly struggle to comply with section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, members of the public told government officials during a May 12 public hearing by the federal Access Board to get feedback on a draft of section 508 refresh. 

Most attendees said they are encouraged by the improved guidelines, but Claude Stout, executive director of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said that federal agencies have trouble in particular with making internal documents accessible to their own staff. Not all federal websites are optimized for screen-reader software, much of the video is not captioned and text size cannot be adjusted in some programs.

One reason why 508 compliance has been lax is a lack of enforcement goals, said Michael Paciello, of accessibility consulting firm The Paciello Group. Federal agencies need tools, training and quality assurance reports in order to get the right technology procured, he added.

Mark Rew, program analyst at the Defense Department, Tricare Management Activity, who focuses on the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program, agreed that compliance is lacking at some agencies. He encouraged the board to follow up on implementation of former guidelines under 508.

The draft rule is available for comment until June 21.

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