Rules require equal access for disabled
By Elana Varon
Federal Computer Week - August 2, 1999 - page 16

Federal procurement policy makers are drafting new acquisition rules that
will require agencies to buy information technology that can be used by
employees with disabilities. 

The rules, expected to take effect a year from now, would carry out a
provision of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, known as Section 508, that
says disabled employees must have the same access to information and data as
those without disabilities. The regulations are to be based on product
standards recommended in May to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, also called the Access Board, the agency that develops
national accessibility guidelines. 

The upcoming rules may have little impact on agencies, which would not be
forced to buy products they could not afford or demand solutions that are not
technologically feasible. But because the government is a large IT customer,
the regulations ions could result in a wider array of products that address
disabled employees' needs. 

"This will definitely drive the market to create more innovative ways of
addressing accessibility," said David Bolnick, accessibility product manager
with Microsoft Corp. "Once there are market forces behind it, companies like
Microsoft, Lotus, and IBM will try to compete and do better than the other
per- son. That is what is going to drive accessibility into the mainstream."
Microsoft served on the advisory committee that suggested the product
standards. Although agencies for many years have been required to provide
accessible technology to their employees, it has never been clear what they
had to do to comply, Bolnick said. 

While there are many IT companies that make products such as keyboards,
screen readers and closed-captioning systems that adapt computers and
telecommunications equipment for people with disabilities, not all commercial
hardware and software products are compatible with this equipment. 

Douglas Wakefield, technology accessibility specialist with the Access Board,
said officials do not yet know the extent to which vendors would have to
rework their products for the federal market, although products that meet
industry standards will be easier to adapt than unique systems. "In general,
the thing to always keep in mind is the legislation is pointing to the
procurement, not the vendor," he said. "I one vendor says its going to cost
us more t do it and another vendor says it's not going to cost us more [the
second vendor] will get the bidding advantage."  

That leaves vendors worried mainly about "the unknown," according to Olga
Grkavac, an executive vice president with the Information Technology
Association of America. Grkavac noted that when the Federal Communications
Commission is sued rules last month about the accessibility of
telecommunications equipment the agency addressed industry concerns but
"there were proposed regulations that could have been more onerous."  

Wakefield said the regulations probably would have minimal impact on
agencies. Contracting offices will have to devise ways to determine whether
they are complying with the law, but agencies already have ways to test
products and handle complaints from employees who feel they are not being
accommodated. 

"Generally, we can accommodate virtually anything that comes down the pike
statutorily," said Scott Thompson, director of contract management at NASA.
"Typically, statutes working with the disabled are things that NASA supports."  

The Access Board plans to propose final product standards in November. At the
same time, Wakefield said, the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council is
expected to propose the new procurement regulation. After a 60-day public
comment period, a final rule will be issued by Aug. 7, 2000, the date by
which agencies must comply with Section 508.

