The General Services Administration (GSA), in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), submits this Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment (referred to hereafter as the “Assessment”) to the Senate Committees on Appropriations and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committees on Appropriations and Oversight and Accountability, pursuant to the reporting requirements in Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
The Assessment marks a pivotal step towards ensuring federal agencies meet their obligations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to provide persons with disabilities (PWD) accessible Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Like the recent “Section 508 Report to the President and Congress: Accessibility of the Federal Electronic and Information Technology” pursuant to 29 U.S.C.§ 794(d)(2), it reviews reporting entities’ Section 508 programs and identifies needed improvements. Distinct from that report, the Assessment establishes a new baseline for Section 508 compliance that is broader and deeper in scope.
Assessment criteria – developed by OMB in consultation with GSA, the U.S. Access Board and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) – provide the foundation for the Assessment. OMB and GSA collected reporting entity data on these 105 Assessment criteria to evaluate the extent to which ICT is accessible and usable by PWD. The criteria cover 11 dimensions as described in Table C1 in the Methods section. We are thrilled with the overwhelming participation, with 249 reporting entities submitting responses.
The Assessment reflects information and activities between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, arrives at data-driven insights on the current state of Section 508 compliance, and provides recommendations on how it should be improved.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the reporting entities for their dedication, cooperation, and transparency in making the inaugural year of the Assessment a success. Through their timely and critical reporting of assessment data, we have built a new foundation for Section 508 compliance across the federal government. Beyond meeting our statutory requirements, we look forward to the positive outcomes of this annual Assessment for federal employees and the American public. If you have any questions about this report, please do not hesitate to contact GSA.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Carnahan
Administrator
Reviewed/Updated: December 2023
