Congress added Section 508 to the Rehabilitation Act in 1998.  This section requires Federal agencies to make all of their information systems as easily accessible to those with disabilities as those without.  In fact, ALL new projects requested by government agencies are to be Section 508 Compliant.  This compliance requirement is what prompted this blog entry. 

Section 508 is divided into sections that relate to different types of projects such as multimedia presentations or client applications.  I think it is safe to say that most of our new projects will be under section 1194.22 which specifically relates to web-based intranet or internet information and applications. You can learn more about web application requirements by visiting:

http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web

That page lists out the different requirements that should be met.  It is very important for those involved in the planning stages of a project to be familiar with the requirements.

Here are some of the major benefits of tackling Section 508 compliance during the planning phase:

• Many trivial items can be addressed during planning and development that will become much more complicated if attempted after development is finished.  (Think about going back through your application and adding keyboard shortcuts for all of your links!) 

• The only appropriate time to request (and hopefully receive) a waiver clearing the development team from a particular requirement is during the planning stages.

• Our clients should have an understanding of Section 508 and it is wrong for them to request functionality that could break the compliance of the application.  Knowing what we are allowed to include helps us explain to the customer why we would be hesitant to add a particular request.

Now that you have had a brief introduction, if interested you can learn everything about Section 508 by visiting www.section508.gov.