In accordance with the U.S. Access Board's updated accessibility requirements covered by Section 508, which went into effect Jan. 18, 2018, the rule revises and refreshes its standards for information and communication technology in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Check out full Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) on the World Wide Web Consortium website.
The Board’s Section 508 Standards, which were first issued in 2000, apply to information and communication technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies.
Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also function as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents.
Other goals of this refresh include:
enhancing accessibility to information for everyone, people with and without disabilities;
making the requirements easier to understand and follow;
updating the requirements so that they stay abreast of the ever-changing nature of the technologies covered; and
harmonizing the requirements with other standards in the U.S. and worldwide.