OMB releases Section 508 strategy
A new federal strategy for increasing the accessibility of information technology for the disabled within federal agencies and on public-facing websites calls for greater levels of assessment and reporting.
The strategy (.pdf), issued by the Office of Management and Budget Jan. 24, says existing implementation of accessibility measures--known as Section 508 compliance--vary widely across agencies, with many struggling to understand and apply standards.
Among the deliverables called for by OMB are for all agency chief information officers to appoint by March 25 a Section 508 coordinator and for CIOs and chief acquisition officers to by May 24 develop a plan and a schedule for completing a baseline assessment of Section 508 compliance on their websites and in IT procurement. The results of those assessments are due in December.
The strategy also calls on the General Services Administration to develop by July 23 a plan for how to utilize an existing website, section508.gov, as "the one-stop information resource for agencies" with respect to management and implementation of IT accessibility.
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Section 508 Action Plan deliverables |
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Activity |
Owner |
Timeframe |
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Action plan for transforming www.section508.gov into a one-stop source of information and communication. |
GSA |
July 23, 2013 |
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Include an accessibility statement on agency inter- and intranet sites.
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Federal agencies |
July 23, 2013 |
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Appoint a Section 508 coordinator and share information with GSA. |
Federal CIOs |
March 25, 2013 |
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Develop a standard template for agencies to use in reporting baseline measures and progress against those measures. |
Federal CIO Council Accessibility Committee |
March 1, 2013 |
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Develop a plan and schedule for completing a baseline assessment for Section 508 with respect to websites and procurement. |
Federal CIOs and chief acquisition officers |
May 24, 2013 |
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Complete baseline assessment and report outcomes in the standard template to the Agency CIO and Federal CIO Accessibility Committee. |
Federal CIOs and CAOs |
December 2013 |
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Provide updates on progress related to the baseline measures in status meetings with the Office of Management and Budget. |
Federal CIOs and CAOs |
Third quarter of fiscal 2014 |
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Refresh reference manual for Section 508 coordinators. |
General Services Administration |
June 2013 |
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Refresh Section 508 learning modules for the acquisition workforce. |
GSA |
October 2013 |
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Identify appropriate mechanisms for sharing updates on Section 508 standards. |
GSA |
When standards are updated |
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Identify recommendations for making Buy Accessible Wizard easier to use |
GSA |
June 2013 |
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Identify recommendations for increasing awareness of Buy Accessible Wizard tool among applicable Federal workforce. |
GSA |
June 2013 |
For more:
- download the Jan. 24 Section 508 strategy (.pdf)
Related Articles:
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Section 508 implementation dialogue separate from regulatory refresh
Draft of Section 508 refresh out for comment
Study: Federal websites not Section 508 compliant
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