[Nfbk] Proposed Rule Changes (Section 508)

[Kevin Pearl]

The U.S. Access Board has released for public comment a proposed rule updating accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_communications_technology) in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act [36 CFR Parts 1193 and 1194 Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards]. The rule also would jointly update guidelines for telecommunications equipment subject to Section 255 of the Communications Act.

The proposed rule updates various requirements to address fundamental shifts and trends in the market, such as the convergence of technologies and the increasingly multi-functional capabilities of products like smart phones. Another key goal of this update is to promote consistency with other requirements in the U.S. and abroad in order to improve accessibility and to facilitate compliance. A leading reference, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG; http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/), is incorporated into the rule and applied to web-based content as well as to offline documents and software. The Board is proposing other revisions that will harmonize the rule with voluntary consensus standards, including those issued by other countries and international bodies such as the European Commission due to the global nature of the ICT market.

Public comments on the rule, as well as on a preliminary assessment of its estimated costs and benefits, are due on or before May 28, 2015. The Board also will hold public hearings on the rule in San Diego on March 5 and in Washington, DC on March 11. In addition, the Board will conduct a public webinar to review the proposal on March 31.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=ATBCB-2015-0002
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