The Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) is now live. Read on to learn how the tool can help your federal agency more easily develop and procure accessible technology.
As the role of technology in our daily lives continues to grow, it’s crucial that every citizen can easily access federal government services and information, particularly online.
GSA’s IT Accessibility Program has released a new Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART), as part of its mission to provide technical assistance to help federal agencies improve compliance and conformance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. ART is a step-by-step guide to help you easily identify and document accessibility requirements for government procurements and contracts, as well as in-house IT development. ART is intended to help you easily incorporate the requirements outlined in the Revised 508 Standards into your procurement documents.
We know adhering to Section 508 Standards is critical when developing accessibility requirement statements, requesting accessibility information from vendors, and creating contract terms and conditions. If you’re familiar with the BuyAccessible Wizard, ART is similar, but with a more modern interface, and it’s written to the Revised 508 Standards. With ART v.1, you can create government accessibility requirement statements that align with the Revised 508 Standards.
Future enhancements to ART will:
- Explain how to request accessibility information from vendors; and
- Help you develop 508 compliant contract terms and conditions.
Keep in mind that this initial release of ART is an MVP (minimum viable product). This means we’re relying on you to try it out and give us your feedback. Your input will help us prioritize how to build out the features and functionality you need most.
We’re hosting an in-person “Introduction to ART” event at GSA Headquarters in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2018. If you’re interested in giving ART a test-drive and helping us make it better, please register here and join us.
Please email us at section.508@gsa.gov with comments, questions and feedback about ART.
