[nfb-talk] Fwd: Federal Government Not Complying with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates

[Joshua Lester]

It's about time!
Blessings, Joshua

On 5/19/11, David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
>>CONTACT:
>>Chris Danielsen
>>Director of Public Relations
>>National Federation of the Blind
>>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>><mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>
>>Federal Government Not Complying with Web Site
>>  Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates
>>
>>National Federation of the Blind Expresses Outrage, Demands Swift Action
>>
>>Baltimore, Maryland (May 19, 2011): A study that has just been
>>published online in the journal
>><http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0740624X>Government
>>Information Quarterly has found that of one-hundred Web sites
>>operated by federal government agencies, over 90 percent do not
>>comply with government accessibility guidelines and likely cannot be
>>used by people who are blind or have other perceptual or motor
>>disabilities.  The study, entitled "Accessibility of U.S. federal
>>government home pages: Section 508 compliance and site accessibility
>>statements" and coauthored by Doctoral Student Abiodun Olalere and
>>Professor Jonathan Lazar of Towson University, found that the home
>>pages of over 90 percent of the Web sites they evaluated contained
>>violations of the government's own guidelines for compliance with
>>Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  That law requires
>>that government electronic and information technology be accessible
>>to people with disabilities.
>>
>>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
>>said: "Blind Americans are outraged that the government is failing
>>to comply with its own guidelines to make government information and
>>services available to citizens with disabilities.  Given the clear
>>legal requirements of Section 508 and the fact that use of the
>>Internet is critical to education, employment, access to government
>>benefits and services, and all other aspects of modern life, there
>>is no excuse for failure to follow and rigorously enforce these
>>guidelines.  We demand that officials in all branches of government
>>take immediate steps to bring all federal Web sites into compliance
>>with the law, and we pledge to continue to hold the federal
>>government accountable if it continues to treat the blind and others
>>with disabilities as second-class citizens."
>>
>>The study evaluated the home pages of one-hundred government Web
>>sites across all three branches of the federal government, including
>>executive agencies, independent agencies, government corporations
>>(e.g. Amtrak), the United States Congress, the United States Supreme
>>Court, United States federal courts, and "open government" Web sites
>>like <http://www.usajobs.gov>www.usajobs.gov and
>><http://www.ready.gov>www.ready.gov.  The authors utilized both
>>automated-software tools and human-expert inspections on each home
>>page, and determined that over 90 percent of the home pages were not
>>in compliance with the Section 508 regulations.
>>
>>Most of the accessibility problems were common ones that are easily
>>resolved, such as unlabeled images, mislabeled forms or tables,
>>videos without captioning, flash without any textual equivalents,
>>and lack of keyboard equivalents for mouse-over actions. The authors
>>noted that this is not a problem unique to one agency.  Similar
>>problems occur on multiple agency Web sites, and the core problem is
>>the lack of consistent compliance activities and enforcement
>>throughout the federal government.
>>
>>The study makes several recommendations to increase compliance,
>>including improved resources on complying with the guidelines;
>>better documentation of best practices; publishing of information
>>about which agencies are compliant and noncompliant with
>>accessibility guidelines as part of the open government dashboard;
>>and better enforcement and monitoring procedures within government
>>agencies, such as the loss of Web-posting privileges for repeatedly
>>posting inaccessible content.
>>
>>
>>###
>>
>>
>>About the National Federation of the Blind
>>
>>With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
>>is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind
>>people in the United States.  The NFB improves blind people's lives
>>through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs
>>encouraging independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading
>>force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's
>>blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of
>>the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center
>>in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>>
>>
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