36 CFR Part 1194 - Proposed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines NPRM

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See also: Final Rule published to the Federal Register 1/18/17 that jointly updates requirements for ICT covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communication Act.

508 CHAPTER 2: SCOPING REQUIREMENTS

E201 Application

E201.1 Scope.

ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to the 508 Standards.

Advisory E201.1 Scope. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d) applies to federal departments and agencies, including the U.S. Postal Service. The term “agency” is defined in Section E103 to include the United States Postal Service and other federal agencies and departments as specified in 44 U.S.C. 3502. That section of the U.S.C. defines “agency” to mean any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency, but does not include (a) the General Accounting Office; (b) Federal Election Commission; (c) the governments of the District of Columbia and of the territories and possessions of the United States, and their various subdivisions; or (d) Government-owned contractor-operated facilities, including laboratories engaged in national defense research and production activities.

E202 General Exceptions

E202.1 General.

ICT shall be exempt from compliance with the 508 Standards to the extent specified by E202.

E202.2 National Security Systems.

The 508 standards do not apply to ICT operated by agencies as part of a national security system, as defined by 40 U.S.C. 11103(a).

Advisory E202.2 National Security Systems. The term National Security System means any telecommunication, or information system operated by the United States government, the function, operation, or use of which involves: intelligence activities; cryptologic activities related to national security; command and control of military forces; equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system; or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions. Systems that are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions do not include systems that are used for routine administrative and business applications. Examples of routine administrative and business applications are payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications. Routine administrative and business applications are covered by this document.

E202.3 Federal Contracts.

ICT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract shall not be required to conform to the 508 Standards.

Advisory E202.3 Federal Contracts. ICT that is incidental to a contract includes materials which are, themselves, not deliverables under the contract. For example, if a contractor is permitted to use money from a contract to acquire a laptop which is used to help create the deliverable for the project, the laptop, itself, is considered incidental to the contract since it is not part of the deliverable.

E202.4 ICT Functions Located in Maintenance or Monitoring Spaces.

Where status indicators and operable parts for ICT functions are located in spaces that are frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment, such status indicators and operable parts shall not be required to conform to the 508 Standards.

Advisory E202.4 Functions Located in Maintenance or Monitoring Spaces. When indicators and operable parts for ICT functions are located in maintenance or monitoring spaces but they are operated remotely, the remote controls or interfaces would also not be permitted this exception unless they are also are located in a maintenance or monitoring space.

E202.5 Undue Burden or Fundamental Alteration.

Where an agency determines in accordance with E202.5 that conformance to requirements in the 508 Standards would impose an undue burden or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, conformance shall be required only to the extent that it does not impose an undue burden or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.5.1 Basis for a Determination of Undue Burden.

In determining whether conformance to requirements in the 508 Standards would impose an undue burden on the agency, the agency shall consider the extent to which conformance would impose significant difficulty or expense considering the agency resources available to the program or component for which the ICT is to be procured, developed, maintained, or used.

E202.5.2 Required Documentation.

The responsible agency official shall document in writing the basis for determining that conformance to requirements in the 508 Standards constitute an undue burden on the agency, or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT. The documentation shall include an explanation of why and to what extent compliance with applicable requirements would create an undue burden or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.5.3 Alternative Means.

Where conformance to one or more requirements in the 508 Standards imposes an undue burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

Advisory E202.5 Undue Burden or Fundamental Alteration. A determination by an agency that conformance to a particular provision would result in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT does not exempt the ICT in its entirety. The agency is required to ensure conformance of ICT to those provisions that do not result in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.6 Best Meets.

Where ICT conforming to one or more requirements in the 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall procure the product that best meets the 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

Advisory E202.6 Best Meets. This exception only applies when a product meeting the provisions of this document is not commercially available. This document does not require agencies to procure ICT that is not needed by the agencies to perform their mission.

E202.6.1 Required Documentation.

The responsible agency official shall document in writing: (a) the nonavailability of conforming ICT, including a description of market research performed and which provisions cannot be met, and (b) the basis for determining that the ICT to be procured best meets the requirements in the 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

Advisory E202.6.1 Required Documentation. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) sets forth the documentation requirements for a determination of commercial non-availability by federal agencies subject to 508 requirements.

E202.6.2 Alternative Means.

Where ICT that fully conforms to the 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

Advisory E202.6.2 Alternative Means. Nothing in this document obviates or limits the requirements of other sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. An agency still may still have a duty under Sections 501 and 504 to provide access to information and data to individuals with disabilities. Some individuals may require accommodations even when using ICT that fully conforms to the provisions of this document.

E203 Access to Functionality

E203.1 General.

Agencies shall ensure that all functionality of ICT is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, either directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology, and shall comply with E203. In providing access to all functionality of ICT, agencies shall ensure the following:

a. That federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and

b. That members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or data from a federal agency have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

E203.2 Agency Business Needs.

When agencies procure, develop, maintain or use ICT they shall identify the business needs of users with disabilities affecting vision, hearing, color perception, speech, dexterity, strength, or reach to determine:

a. How users with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the ICT; and

b. How the ICT will be installed, configured, and maintained to support users with disabilities.

Advisory E203.2 Agency Business Needs. An assistive technology needs assessment is an example of how an agency might analyze how a user performs the functions supported by the ICT. Set-up of assistive technology is an example of installation and configuration to support use by people with disabilities. User training is an example of a resource that helps maintain the ability of users with disabilities to use ICT.

E204 Functional Performance Criteria

E204.1 General.

Where the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 do not address one or more features of ICT, the features not addressed shall conform to the Functional Performance Criteria specified in Chapter 3.

E205 Content

E205.1 General.

Content shall comply with E205.

E205.2 Public Facing.

Content that is public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4.

E205.3 Agency Official Communication.

Content that is not public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4 when such content constitutes official business, and is communicated by an agency through one or more of the following:

1. An emergency notification;
2. An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding;
3. An internal or external program or policy announcement;
4. A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action;
5. A formal acknowledgement or receipt;
6. A questionnaire or survey;
7. A template or form; or
8. Educational or training materials.

EXCEPTION: Records maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to federal recordkeeping statutes shall not be required to conform to the 508 Standards unless public facing.

Advisory E205.3 Agency Official Communication - Exception. Materials submitted to NARA as public records are not required to conform to the provisions of this document even if they are of a type listed in E205.3. However, all agencies are encouraged to do what they can to preserve aspects of documents that contribute to their accessibility, such as structure and formatting.

E205.4 Accessibility Standards.

Content shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements specified for Web pages in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference in Chapter 1) or, where applicable, ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1) (incorporated by reference in Chapter 1).

E206 Hardware

E206.1 General.

Where components of ICT are hardware and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to applicable requirements in Chapter 4.

E207 Software

E207.1 General.

Where components of ICT are software and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to E207 and applicable requirements in Chapter 5.

E207.2 WCAG Conformance.

User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements specified for Web pages in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference in Chapter 1).

Advisory E207.2 WCAG Conformance. WCAG is written to be technology neutral. While oriented towards web pages which are defined as being delivered using HTTP, the WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements can be applied to non-web documents, user interface components, and the content of platforms and applications. Guidance can be found at: http://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict.

E208 Support Documentation and Services

E208.1 General.

Where an agency provides support documentation or services for ICT, such documentation and services shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 6.

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