January 10, 2017 - The United States Access Board has refreshed Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The General Services Administration’s Government-wide Section 508 Program, along with the Access Board, and the Accessibility Community of Practice, will guide agencies through the transition with training, tools, and communication resources.
In a press release, the United States Access Board writes that they have “released a final rule that updates accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The rule also refreshes guidelines for telecommunications equipment subject to Section 255 of the Communications Act.” For complete details, view the entire Access Board announcement.
This Section 508 Refresh aligns the US Government’s Section 508 requirements with the prevailing international accessibility Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). Other countries and industries are already aligned to WCAG 2.0, and this update ensures that the United States is using the prevailing international standards for accessibility.
The rule will take effect in one year, providing adequate time to smoothly transition to the new standards. To learn more, attend the Access Board’s February 2nd Section 508 Refresh webinar and monitor Section508.gov for further developments.
