[nfbmi-talk] {Disarmed} [NFB of PA Discussions] FW: Federal Government Not Complying with Web Site Accessibility Requirements, Study Indicates

[Christine Boone]

> 
> 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 Government
> <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0740624X> 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. 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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