Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

A. - Introduction

Acquisition of Electronic and Information Technology Under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Questions and Answers Date: January 2002 Updated: October 2009 NEW Note to Readers This document is a consolidation of acquisition-related questions that have been posed by agencies, contractors, and members of the disability community regarding section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The responses to these questions are intended to promote a better understanding of the requirements of section 508 and it’s implementing regulations, including the collaboration that is anticipated within agencies in the acquisition of EIT. The document is purely informational. It neither creates new policies nor changes existing policies. Agency personnel must consult appropriate officials within their agencies for formal advice. This web document, which is being hosted by the General Services Administration, was developed after review by an interagency steering committee comprised of agencies with lead responsibilities for the implementation of section 508. The steering committee was established to further facilitate the effective implementation of section 508. This "living" document may be further updated as necessary to address additional questions and further promote a common and effective understanding of section 508 requirements. Accordingly, you are encouraged to monitor the section 508 web site, www.section508.gov. Comments are welcome and may be sent to section.508@gsa.gov.

A.1. - What is Section 508?

Section 508 refers to a statutory section in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (refer to 29 U.S.C. 794d). Congress significantly strengthened Section 508 in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Its primary purpose is to provide access to and use of Federal executive agencies’ electronic and information technology (EIT) by individuals with disabilities. The statutory language of Section 508 can be found at www.section508.gov. Section 508 requirements are separate from, but complementary to, requirements in Sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that require, among other things, that agencies provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, provide program access to members of the public with disabilities, and take other actions necessary to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability in their programs. 

A.2.i. - What does Section 508 require?

Section 508 generally requires Federal agencies to ensure that, when developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, they take into account the needs of all end users – including people with disabilities. Doing so enhances the ability of Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to others. Similarly, agency procurement of accessible EIT enhances the ability of members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or services from a Federal agency to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to others. Comparable access is not required if it would impose an "undue burden" on the agency. If an agency invokes the undue burden exception, the statute requires the information and data to be provided to individuals with disabilities by an alternative means of access. (See section B.6.ii, below)

A.2.ii. - Should EIT be compatible with assistive technology?

Yes, as a general matter. The goal of Section 508 is that EIT be compatible with assistive technology. In some cases, the standards require that the acquired EIT be readily usable without the need for assistive devices. For example, products covered by Section 1194.25, Self Contained, Closed Products, must have the access features built into the product. These products, such as information kiosks, copiers, or other similar products that do not permit a user to install or connect assistive technology, must be designed so that an end user can operate the product, without having to modify it. Also, multimedia presentations that require captioning and descriptive video must have these features built into the product, as it is impractical to expect end users to add on their own captions or descriptions. However, for most products -- such as software, web pages, and computers -- achieving compatibility with assistive technology is the goal of the standards.

A.3.i - What are the "Covered Actions"?

The requirements of Section 508 apply to an agency’s procurement of EIT, as well as to the agency’s development, maintenance, or use of EIT. These Questions and Answers address issues related to an agency’s procurement of EIT. (Individuals with disabilities may only enforce Section 508 with respect to procurements. However, they may also enforce rights under Sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which impose related obligations on agencies).

A.3.ii. - If an agency uses in-house staff to develop products (e.g., training films, videotapes, websites, software applications, etc.) are these products required to meet the Section 508 standards even though a procurement action was not involved?

Yes. The requirements of Section 508 apply to an agency's procurement of EIT, as well as to the agency's development, maintenance, or use of EIT irrespective of the origin of the EIT (in-house development or commercially acquired). See A.3 with respect to type of work Section 508 covers.

A.3.iii - If an EIT item is maintained or developed by both contractor and government employees, is it covered by the Section 508 standards?

Yes. Unless an exception applies, if the product is a deliverable under a contract it must conform to the applicable standards regardless of the mix of labor used to produce it. (See G below for information regarding exceptions).

A.4. - Do the requirements of Section 508 apply to acquisitions other than those for EIT?

No. (See also section B.1.ii below)

A.5 - Are there regulations implementing Section 508?

Yes, there are two regulations addressing the requirements of section 508.

i. Access Board Standards. The first regulation implementing section 508 was issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the "Access Board"), an independent Federal agency, whose primary mission is to promote accessibility for individuals with disabilities. This regulation is referred to as the Access Board’s "standards."

The standards, along with an explanatory preamble, were published in the Federal Register, as a final rule, on December 21, 2000 (65 Fed. Reg. 80499). The standards are codified at 36 CFR Part 1194 and may be accessed through the Access Board’s web site at http://www.access-board.gov.

The Access Board’s standards consist of several subparts which, among other things:

• define EIT (see 36 CFR 1194.4);

• set forth "technical provisions" that:

• address the required functionality / performance of specific technologies and product categories (see "Subpart B" of the Access Board’s standards);

• identify broader functional performance criteria to cover technologies or components for which there is no specific provision in Subpart B -- e.g., because the technology or product does not yet exist or was not contemplated by the Access Board during the promulgation of the standards (see "Subpart C" of the Access Board’s standards); and

• include requirements for accessible information, documentation, and support for EIT (see "Subpart D" of the Access Board’s standards);

• define agencies’ authority to consider EIT that does not meet the applicable technical provisions in Subpart B, but provides equivalent facilitation that meets the functional performance criteria of Subpart C (see 36 CFR 1194.5); and

• set forth some of the exceptions to the requirement to buy EIT that meets the applicable technical provisions (see 36 CFR 1194.3).

The Access Board’s standards become enforceable on June 21, 2001 (see section H.2., below).

ii. FAR Rule. The second rule issued to implement section 508 amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to ensure that agency acquisitions of EIT comply with the Access Board’s standards. The entire FAR is found at 48 CFR Chapter 1, located at http://www.arnet.gov/far/. The FAR change implementing section 508 was published along with an explanatory preamble in the Federal Register on April 25, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 20894) and is effective as of June 25, 2001 (see section H, below). The FAR rule can be found at http://www.section508.gov.

A.6 - Does Section 508, as implemented by the Access Board’s standards and the FAR, impose the same obligations on agencies and contractors?

No. Although the FAR uses the term "compliance" with respect to both agencies and contractors, the nature of their respective responsibilities differs. Agencies are responsible for complying with Section 508 as a whole, including identification of applicable Access Board technical provisions (see sections C and D below) and making nonavailability and exception determinations (see sections F and G below).

Contractors interested in selling EIT to the Federal government are responsible for designing and manufacturing products which conform to the applicable Access Board’s technical provisions."> Agencies are responsible for complying with Section 508 as a whole, including identification of applicable Access Board technical provisions (see sections C and D below) and making nonavailability and exception determinations (see sections F and G below).

Contractors interested in selling EIT to the Federal government are responsible for designing and manufacturing products which conform to the applicable Access Board’s technical provisions.

A.7. - What aspects of the acquisition process are affected by Section 508 and its implementing regulations?

Section 508 affects what agencies acquire (i.e., the requirements development process), generally not how they acquire it (i.e., source selection). See FAR 7.103(o) (addressing acquisition planning), FAR 10.001(a)(3)(vii) (addressing market research), FAR 11.002(f) (addressing needs descriptions), FAR 12.202(d) (addressing requirements documents for commercial item acquisitions), and FAR Subpart 39.2 (addressing the acquisition of EIT).