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What is a Section 508 compliance checklist?

A Section 508 compliance checklist is a collection or list that provides the evaluation criteria that must be met to ensure an information and communication technology (ICT) product or service is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. A product or service that is accessible from the standpoint of a Section 508 checklist is regarded as having met the Section 508 compliance standards.

What is Section 508 compliance?

Section 508 compliance, also simply referred to as 508 compliance, is a legal requirement that all federal organizations ensure that the ICT they create, acquire, maintain, or use allows people with disabilities to access and use information and data that is electronically accessible.

A Section 508 compliance checklist is something every organization or business needs to have for legal protection from possible Section 508-related lawsuits as well as revenue loss due to lost business opportunities.

It is always important to work with an updated and extensive Section 508 checklist so that you donÕt miss out on some areas you need to firm up in your ICT product or service. For example, those who want to have 508-compliant websites need to conform to the requirements in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA checklist for Section 508 compliance.

The WCAG 2.0 Level AA checklist for Section 508 compliance includes:

• Providing text alternatives for non-text content
• Providing alternatives to video-only and audio-only content
• Providing captions for videos with audio
• Ensuring a high contrast between text sections and their backgrounds
• Defining the language used on the web pages
• Ensuring that all website functionalities are operable via keyboard
• Ensuring that when visitors are met with time limitations within the website, the time limit can be adjusted.
• Minimizing distractions and allowing visitors to turn off or postpone interruptions
• Ensuring that websites donÕt have flashing content that could induce seizures
• Ensuring that any single-character key shortcuts are adjustable, providing a Ôskip to contentÕ link, and ensuring that if a website visitor commits an error, the error is identifiable and can be described in text and announced by screen readers.
• Ensuring that labels and instructions are descriptive and clear for all website visitors.
• Ensuring that the website has a clear and concise heading structure.
• Ensuring that content placement and functionality are predictable.
• Ensuring that page titles are clear and helpful.
• Ensuring that functionalities requiring gestures can be performed by website visitors with limited mobility.
• Ensuring that all links have text that accurately conveys the purpose of the link.
• Ensuring that electronic documents are accessible and can be read by assistive technologies.

The merits of using an updated or extensive 508-compliance checklist

The primary objective of using a Section 508 compliance checklist is to ensure that the electronic product or service whose compliance you are using the Section 508 checklist to establish is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.

The advantages of using an extensive Section 508 compliance checklist include:

• Ensuring that your electronic product or service is accessible to as many users as possible.
• Avoiding discriminating against people with certain types of disabilities, given that using a checklist that is not extensive enough could make one risk the danger of not considering how a product or service is accessible to users with a certain type of disability,
• Limiting the chances of being vulnerable to non-compliance lawsuits
• Improving the quality of a product or service based on perspectives from different angles
• Distinguishing the best Section 508 compliance checker to use in testing compliance in the case of website 508 compliance

Get help identifying Section 508 checklists that are extensive

When embarking on Section 508 compliance for your electronic product or service, having a reliable checklist will help you avoid missing out on some key areas of consideration by compensating for the potential limits of human memory and attention.

You can get help identifying an extensive 508 compliance checklist for use in ensuring your electronic product or service attains the 508 compliance standard you desire by contacting ADACP at (626) 486-2201 to set up a free consultation or to request a quick Section 508 compliance testing quote.

What are Section 508 accessibility guidelines?

The United States Access Board is required under the Rehabilitation Act's Section 508 to create and publish Section 508 guidelines and to offer technical help on Section 508. As a result, to stay abreast of any modifications to the Section 508 accessibility standards and recommendations that the Access Board may release, you should always keep yourself informed.

To begin with, Section 508 mandates that all users, including those with disabilities, have access to information and communication technology (ICT) created, acquired, maintained, or used by federal entities. People with disabilities have access to electronic information and data thanks to the Section 508 accessibility guidelines, which are a component of the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

An update on the Revised 508 Standards

In order to guarantee ICT is accessible and usable for people with disabilities, the Revised Section 508 accessibility requirements or standards are divided into 508 chapters. All federal organizations subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act must adhere to these guidelines.

The use of equivalent design or technology that results in substantially greater accessibility and usability for people with disabilities than would be offered by compliance with one or more requirements is authorized under the standards. In accordance with the guidelines, accessibility and usability for people with disabilities ought to be at least essentially similar and preferably greater.

Some of the major changes in the Revised Section 508 accessibility guidelines include focus on functionality in terms of their organization instead of product type so as to keep pace with advances in technology; industry alignment that incorporates the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 that clarifies the guidelines’ applicability to websites, electronic, and software; content accessibility that requires all public-facing official agency business content as well as specific categories of non-public-facing content that is official agency business to be accessible; synchronized tools and tech, which clarifies that software and operating systems must interoperate with assistive technology; and the expanded marketplace, which incorporates by reference, selected international standards like WCAG 2.0, and harmonizes with European Commission ICT Standards (EN 301 549), to create a larger marketplace of accessibility solutions.

Web accessibility standards 508

In comparison to the current Section 508 accessibility standards, the Section 508 WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria are more precise. The writing of the success criteria as objectively tested Section 508 accessibility requirements has received careful consideration. Additionally, WCAG 2.0 is written differently from the pre-existing 508 accessibility guidelines in that it is technology-neutral and hence immediately applicable to a variety of content kinds and formats.

There are 38 Level A and AA Success Criteria in the revised WCAG 2.0 Section 508 web accessibility requirements, 22 of which are worded differently but are conceptually identical to the original 508 accessibility standards. Content that complies with the most recent Section 508 requirements may not meet the sixteen new success criteria.

The WCAG success criteria and the Revised Section 508 standards both have the goal of making ICT accessible to individuals with impairments, which is interesting to note. The WCAG 2.0 Levels A and AA are mentioned in the Revised Section 508 web accessibility standards.

Get regular updates on Section 508 accessibility guidelines

Always keep in mind that whatever you add to your website or other ICT product or service must adhere to the most recent online accessibility requirements set out by the 508 guidelines. Since most firms and organizations are too busy with their primary operations to have time to investigate the revisions to the standards, this necessitates awareness of any updates that the Access Board has made to the standards.

Smart businesses and organizations entrust the task of keeping in touch with any Section 508 updates to experts like ADACP. This ensures that they don’t just focus on the core mandate of their businesses but stay ahead of their peers in terms of knowing up-to-date information about changes to the Section 508 guidelines.

Call ADACP at (626) 486-2201 to set up a free consultation or to request a quick quote for the latest Section 508 web accessibility requirements if you want them to inform you about changes in the section 508 accessibility environment while you concentrate on your organization's or business's primary goals.