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What is Section 508 accessibility?

Section 508 accessibility is a term used in reference to the requirement under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act that all federal agencies ensure that their information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible to people with disabilities, unless certain exceptions apply.

If you are a federal agency, an organization that gets federal funding, or a service provider to federal or federally funded organizations, you need to comply with Section 508 compliance requirements.

At present, Section 508 compliance applies to software and online digital properties like websites and web-based applications, online documents, video and audio content, and social media posts. For Section 508 compliance, these must be able to be accessed and used by people with disabilities.

What is 508 compliance, and why does it matter?

what is 508 compliant compliance is a requirement for ICT products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. Compliance has been put in place to provide guidance to organizations that both want and need to be accessible.

The disabilities that ought to be accounted for when considering 508 compliance include physical disabilities, hearing disabilities, visual disabilities, and cognitive disabilities, among others.

There are a number of reasons why being Section 508 compliant is critical and helpful for federal organizations and the entities that receive federal funding or are contracted by federal agencies and federally funded organizations. Importantly, 508 compliance makes it easier for federal employees who have disabilities to do their work effectively because it helps to remove the technical barriers that would otherwise impede their work.

Section 508 compliance also helps to ensure that ICT that is made available benefits a substantial number of people who would otherwise be unable to access it. It therefore ensures that people with disabilities are able to access the information they need, complete tasks, or undertake purchases online, just like anyone else.

Section 508 compliance is also important because it protects an entity from the threat of facing legal action. This means that adhering to the Section 508 compliance requirements can provide business owners with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that their businesses or organizations are doing what is expected of them in the eyes of the law.

Section 508 compliance checklist

Section 508 of the compliance checklist covers ICT products and services governed by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the accessibility requirements articulated in the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The guidelines are one of the most treasured checklists when it comes to matters of web accessibility. WCAG also contains instructions regarding how to configure other online content, such as videos and online documents, so as to make them accessible to people with disabilities.

Conformance to the WCAG accessibility requirements is at three levels: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Level A has the most elementary accessibility requirements, while Level AA is the conformance level referenced in many accessibility rules and regulations worldwide. Level AAA is the most advanced accessibility level and contains requirements that are hardest to attain.

For your website or web-based product or service to be Section 508 compliant website, it must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. To conform to this level of accessibility, the ICT product or service must meet the requirements of completing and updating a VPAT that contains the appropriate checklist.

For websites and web-based products and services, the checklist requires that you provide text alternatives for non-text content, alternatives to video-only and audio-only content, captions for videos with audio, as well as ensuring a high contrast between text sections and their backgrounds.

The checklist list also requires one to define the language used on a web page, ensure all website functionality is operable via keyboard, and ensure that when website visitors are met with time limitations, the time limit can be adjusted. It also has requirements that provide for minimization of distractions, allowing website visitors to turn off or postpone interruptions, and the need to ensure the site has no flashing content that could induce seizures, among others.

Need more information and help with 508 compliance-accessible websites?

ADACP readily provides information and helps with 508 compliance-accessible websites. You can reach them by calling (626) 486-2201 to arrange a free consultation or request a quick website Section 508 compliance quote.

What is 508 testing?

If you are part of the federal ecosystem of organizations or agencies, or you are doing business with one or more of these organizations, then your organization or business is required to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This compliance entails 508 testing of all information and communication technology (ICT) products or services that you create, procure, maintain, or use. But what is this testing, and how does it look in practice?

508 testing is a service that provides one-time or ongoing accessibility support to ensure the Section 508 accessibility requirements are integrated into an organization's or business’ ICT products and services. It actually gets the edge over its competitors by ensuring that its products or services are Section 508-compliant.

Making all ICT products and services accessible to everyone is the ultimate goal of Section 508 testing. Indeed, it is not just ethical to ensure products and services are accessible to everyone, but a smart business move as well.

Non-compliance with Section 508 can lead to heavy fines for the non-compliant entities, and even the private entities that do business with the federal organizations risk losing their contracts on account of non-compliance with 508. That is why 508 testing is very important.

But while planning your 508 compliance testing, you should consider the credibility of the 508 compliance certification that you get. Contracting a Section 508 compliance tester who is not experienced and certified might place the credibility of your 508 testing at stake. A good 508 compliance tester professionally takes your ICT products or services through every stage of the 508 testing, which effectively interrogates every aspect of the product or service in light of the Revised Section 508 Standards.

Here is how Section 508 compliance testing can effectively be delivered.

There are three ways in which 508 testing is delivered: the manual testing method, the automated testing method, and the hybrid testing method.

• Manual 508 testing method

Manual 508 compliance testing is usually conducted by a professional 508 compliance tester who audits the targeted ICT product or service’s features and technologies against the established accessibility standards.

Given that this approach to 508 compliance testing relies on manual efforts, it tends to be more time-consuming but can also provide you with invaluable qualitative results. You can use the data obtained to create a plan on how to resolve the accessibility issues established.

When conducting a manual Section 508 audit, the compliance tester checks your ICT product or service to establish if it meets the relevant accessibility requirements or standards.

For digital products like websites, testers may use assistive technologies like screen readers to ensure the content on the site can be interpreted by the assistive technologies. They then explore the user experience for users with various disabilities.

An experienced 508 compliance tester will examine the compatibility of an ICT product or service with the major disability categories, including physical disabilities, hearing disabilities, visual disabilities, and cognitive disabilities.

• Automated Section 508testing 

Automated testing involves incorporating automated accessibility checkers or tools to assess the state of a digital asset’s 508 compliance. The effectiveness of automated 508 testing is felt when it comes to its advantages of speed and reduced cost.

If you have big websites or websites that have large volumes of data, as in the case of platforms for online shopping, automated testing can effectively deliver quick and cost-effective 508 testing results.

• Hybrid 508testing 

A hybrid testing approach for Section 508 compliance integrates both the manual testing approach and the automated approach. This approach to Section 508 compliance testing is mostly effective when you want to have an idea about the accessibility issues that you should focus on when contracting the services of a manual 508 compliance tester.

The automated testing process helps to flag out the accessibility barriers that are rampant in the ICT product or service, which can be used when discussing with an accessibility consultant the areas to focus on when undertaking a manual audit as part of a time-saving and cost-management measure.

Need help determining the most effective 508 testing approach to adopt?

The manual, automatic, and hybrid 508 testing approaches have their own unique niche areas where their effectiveness is most pronounced. It required an accessibility professional who has worked with each of them under various circumstances to help you decide on the most effective approach for testing your product or service.

ADACP is always ready to offer assistance to businesses that need help deciding on the best testing method for their unique circumstances. You can reach them by calling (626) 486-2201 to arrange a free consultation. They can also provide you with a quick Section 508 compliance testing quote if you are in need of one.