Seminar/Workshop Materials : U.S. Accessible Web Policy &
LawEmpowering Persons with Disabilities Through ICT
U.S. Accessible Web Policy & Law
Cynthia D. Waddell, JD
Executive Director, ICDRI
[Text Version of a Powerpoint presentation]
This PowerPoint presentation is organized into four topics: 1) Technology Crossroad 2)
Accessible Web Complaints 3) U. S. Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility
Standards (Section 508) and 4) Section 508 Impact and the Federal Accessibility Forum. It
opens with a slide showing people with disabilities surrounded by a montage of assistive
computer technologies and information in alternate formats.
The technology crossroad addresses the explosive growth of technology driving user
interface requirements; the shift to web applications & enterprise portals redefining
the delivery method of services to the user; the information technology evolution to a
multi-modality architecture where the assistive technology functionality is moving into
the mainstream; and the U.S. disability rights alignment fueling the national research and
development agenda.
Two examples of accessible web design complaints and their outcome are discussed: the
1995 Americans with Disabilities Act City of San Jose, CA USA complaint and the1999
Australian Disability Discrimination Act complaint against the Sydney Organizing Committee
for the Olympic Games.
Focusing on U.S. legislation, the presentation reviews Section 508 and its expansive
definition for ICT: hardware, software, web pages, databases, fax machines, copies,
information transaction machines, kiosks, telephones and multimedia. It also addresses
accessibility of information, documentation and support. Section 508 provides a private
right by people with disabilities against governmental agencies and promotes a marketplace
incentive for designing accessible products and services. It attaches civil right
requirements to the procurement of technology and requires an accessible information
technology plan rather than one that addresses accessibility issues exclusively on an
"ad hoc" or "as needed basis."
As stated in Ms. Waddell's Digital Divide Paper, "Information Technology Changes,
but Civil Rights Do Not." Challenges ahead for the web include the requirement to
perform self-evaluations of ICT; adopting accessible web policies and implementation
procedures; providing web developers and managers accessibility training, design tools and
resources; and building accessibility into web-based applications and system design.
Finally, accessibility must be continually addressed as ICT advances and evolves. |
