1.0 Introduction
Section 508 CFR 36 1194.22 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that requires electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the Federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. On August 7, 1998, the President signed into law the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, which includes the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. Section 508 was originally added to the Rehabilitation Act in 1986; the 1998 amendments significantly expand and strengthen the technology access requirements in Section 508.
Section 508 requires that all web pages posted after June 20, 2001 be designed to ensure that members of the public with disabilities, and Federal employees with disabilities, have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to the access and use available to persons who do not have disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. For example, application of the Section 508 Criteria for Certification parts (a) and (k), found later in this document, require every pie chart on the web to be in a format readable by a screen reader. Criteria (b) requires every movie to be captioned for the deaf and contain a document that describes the movie's content for the blind. To aid people with mobility impairments, Criteria (l) requires any application controlled by mouse clicks to also be controllable using keystrokes. Criteria (m) requires every web page to be interpretable by a screen reader.
The Architecture and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known as the Access Board, wrote the technical standards for electronic and information technology covered by Section 508. The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. It operates with about 30 staff members, and a governing board of representatives from Federal departments and public members appointed by the President.
Key responsibilities of the Board include:
- developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the building environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information technology
- providing technical assistance and training on these guidelines and standards
- enforcing accessibility standards for federally funded facilities
In writing the standards, the Access Board relied heavily upon work done by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium. Most of the Access Board's accessibility standards came from the WAI's recommendations.
1.1 Purpose
The purpose of the National Weather Service (NWS) Web Site Accessibility Certification Policy is to provide a process for the review and certification of NWS web sites with Section 508 Accessibility Standards.
1.2 Scope
This Certification Policy applies to all web-based intranet and Internet information and applications whether developed in house or by contractors.
1.3 Reference
2.0 Policy
All new Web pages and pages modified after June 20, 2001 are required to meet the Section 508 1194.22 standard. Web pages posted before June 21, 2001, are grandfathered. However, web authors are encouraged to make web pages posted before June 21, 2001 compliant with the Section 508 standards
All NWS web sites shall submit to an annual review for Section 508 compliance. This review will start in February of each year and is consistent with DOC policy stating "DOC CIOs should maintain a list of their organizations' web sites and have in place a process designed to support annual certification so that as new Web sites are launched and existing Web sites are modified, ongoing compliance with Department Web site standards and policies is maintained."
Exception:
An undue burden may apply when making a web page accessible would impose a significant expense or difficulty on the Operating Unit or program area. Even in those cases where an undue burden can be documented, an alternative means of access must be provided. The Department of Commerce Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for approving undue burden requests. The CIO may delegate this authority under certain circumstances to the Commerce Operating Unit CIOs.
There are two instances in which undue burden issues must be addressed. First, whenever an Operating Unit determines a need to acquire goods or services that are not accessible to individuals with disabilities, approval must be obtained via an undue burden determination. Second, in an Operating Unit's IT accessibility Remediation Plan, which assesses and monitors its state of compliance with the Section 508 standards, all systems and applications that require an undue burden determination must be identified.
Web site developers cannot unilaterally declare the existence of an undue burden; all undue burden requests must follow the Departmental process to obtain an undue burden determination.
The following definition of Undue Burden is included in 36 CFR 1194.4:
Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense. In determining whether an action would result in an undue burden, an agency shall consider all agency resources available to the program or component for which the product is being developed, procured, maintained, or used.
2.1 Responsibilities
The NWS Chief Information Officer (CIO) has oversight responsibility for the web site Certification Policy.
NWS Office and Regional directors are responsible for ensuring that all of their organization's web sites are compliant with Section 508 standards.
NWS web authors are responsible for meeting the Criteria for Certification on their Web sites.
3.0 Procedures
System Certification
NWS web sites require an annual review and certification for Section 508 compliance. This review will start in February of each year. The annual review is to be consistent with the DOC/CIO annual review for compliance with all DOC Web policies.
A web based interface for accepting web addresses and reporting certification status will be made available.
- The OCIO shall only evaluate NWS web pages identified in the web address provided.
- Upon receipt of a web address, the OCIO shall respond with the results of the certification test within five business days to the requestor.
- The certification test results will indicate whether or not the site met the Criteria for Certification listed below. If not, the feature and location where the item does not meet the standard will be identified.
- The OCIO will maintain a database of certification test results.
In addition to the required annual review, the NWS OCIO will provide the following service to assist Web authors in meeting the Section 508 standards: When Web authors are uncertain about the accessibility of a web page or are having difficulty making a web page accessible, or the accessibility of a web page has been brought into question, they can submit the Web address to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) for certification testing.
Criteria for Certification
NWS web sites must meet the following criteria to be compliant with Section 508 standards:
(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with the Software Section 508 standards.
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
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