Section 508: Reconstruction in progress
Web technologies outpace accessibility law and require a major rewrite of
   508 standards
From: Federal Computer Week - 01/22/2007
By: Wade-Hahn Chan

Written as part of a 1986 amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
Section 508 requires federal agencies to procure IT that is accessible to
people with disabilities.  

However, that early provision lacked an enforcement mechanism, and few
agencies complied. The Workforce Investment Act of 1997 amended Section 508
to set an enforcement deadline. All hardware and software sold to the
government must now be 508 compliant. 

But some experts say the 508 provision is outdated, which complicates
compliance. Recognizing the problem, the US Access Board appointed an
advisory committee last year to review and rewrite Section 508. That task has
turned into a major one as members appointed by the independent federal
agency discover interoperability problems with new technologies and other
shortfalls in the provision’s standards. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.fcw.com/article97369-01-22-07-Print&newsletter=yes

Other short articles on this webpage:
1. VA call center program is a 508 success story
2. Federal employees win two recent 508 cases
3. Digital helpers - an informal look
   a. Cyrano the Communicator - Cyrano Communicator
   b. Braille printing - Emprint Braille Printer
   c. Converting speech to sign language - iCommunicator
   d. Nifty screen reader - Pocket Hal

Related stories:
Advisory Committee faces major hurdles with Section 508 revision
http://www.fcw.com/article96831-11-15-06-Web

ITAA joins Section 508 advisory committee
http://www.fcw.com/article95294-07-17-06-Web

Advisory committee on accessibility named 
http://www.fcw.com/article95247-07-12-06-Web