Overcoming Barriers to ICT through Accessibility “Partners for Progress” April 18, 2013 Tennessee Association on Higher Education and Disability (TNHEAD) 2013 Spring Conference Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN

Today’s speaker: Timothy Creagan Senior Accessibility Specialist U.S. Access Board

Today’s topics: I.Introduction II.Barriers III.Background: §508 of the Rehabilitation Act and §255 of the Telecommunications Act IV.What about modern technology? V.The “Refresh” of Sections 508 & 255

I. Introduction: U.S. Access Board Budget: $7.0 million (FY 2013) Staff: 29 Executive Director’s Office General Counsel’s Office Office of Administrative Services Technical & Information Services

Access Board Programs Guidelines and standards development Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Telecommunications Act of 1996 Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 Technical assistance and training Research ABA enforcement

II. Barriers to People with Disabilities

Have you ever struggled to see the characters on a screen?

Seeing: Phones Illuminated displays High contrast controls Large buttons Computers Zoom display High contrast display Screen reader

Hearing: Phones Hearing aid compatibility Text capability Vibrating alerts Computers Video captions Visual alerts

Holding and manipulating: Phones: Large buttons Lightweight Speed dial Computers Sticky keys Keyboard commands Voice recognition = +

Thinking, remembering: Phones Automatic redial Voice activated dialing Computers Alternate input modes Screen reader

III. Background: §508 of the Rehabilitation Act and §255 of the Telecommunications Act

Overview Telecommunications Act of U.S.C. §255 “Section 255” Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 29 U.S.C. § 794 (d) “Section 508”

Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act Overview

§ 255 General Requirements Manufacturers & service providers must: Provide equipment that is accessible Include representation from people with disabilities in the processes of Product Design, Development, and Evaluation

Cell Phone: How Accessible ? Button Feel PoorBetter! Volume control On/Off button Poor Better! Text Size 10-pt Text on screen

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Overview

§508 General Requirements: Each Federal department and agency, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, when procuring, maintaining, developing or using electronic and information technology, must ensure that: Federal employees with disabilities, and members of the public with disabilities seeking information or services, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by persons who are not individuals with disabilities, unless… Standard: ….an “Undue Burden” would be imposed on the agency.

What Technology is Covered by §508? Includes, but is not limited to… ComputersTelecommunications Office Equipment Websites Kiosks Printers Software

Who Benefits from § People with disabilities who interact with federal agencies. 2.Federal employees with disabilities. 3.All people with disabilities, because accessible products for the federal market are also sold in the public marketplace.

IV. What about modern technology?

Modern Technology can be used by People with Disabilities: iPods and Podcasting VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Phones

Making technology accessible: Captions Alternative formats: text for audio, alt tags for images Use of API (Application Programming Interface) to address compatibility between AT and IT software (make products interoperate) “Apps” or “Applications” on Smart phones

This is happening world wide Other countries are watching U.S. design

Convergence of Technology Web applications and web-software installed on a pc v. on web wiki Hardware, esp. mobile devices Cell phone /w text messaging

Mobile Telecommunications Texting SMS (Short Message service) RTT (Real time Text) – Multi media: video + text + audio =

Multi-touch and gesture interfaces: Touch interfaces on mobile devices. Touchscreens, cameras, and other movement detection systems can receive and analyze complex actions: “chorded” input (several fingers at once) Whole gestures: spreading two fingers apart or tilting one’s head to the side

Multi-touch interfaces: Apple iPhone HP TouchSmart PC HP TouchSmart PC

Gesture-based interfaces Wii

V. The Refresh of Section 508

The “Refresh” of Section 508: The “Refresh” is an update of:  Section 508 standards for electronic and information technology (“E&IT”) (procured by Federal agencies)  Section 255 guidelines for telecommunications products

Why Refresh? Statutory requirement: “The Access Board shall periodically review and, as appropriate, amend the standards to reflect technological advances or changes in electronic and information technology.” (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act) “The Board shall review and update the Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines periodically” (Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act) Changes in technology 12 years since the first Section 508 standards 15 years since the first Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines Clarify ambiguities in current standards and guidelines What products are covered? Improve testability

ICT Refresh Steps TEITAC establishment: July 2006 TEITAC report: April 2008 First ANPRM and draft text: March 2010 Public comments: March-June 2010 Review comments Second ANPRM and draft text: Dec. 8, 2011 *Harmonization draft published* Public Comments: Dec. 2011– March 2012 Review comments, revise text of proposed rule

Final Steps Develop proposed rule (NPRM): **Text, preamble & regulatory assessment Submit to OMB Publish NPRM in the Federal Register Public comment period – 60 days Analyze comments Develop final rule & regulatory assessment Publish Final Rule in the Federal Register

Some trends in updating the 508 standards: 1. Organize technical provisions by functions, rather than product types – “two way voice communication” NOT “telephones” 2. Reference external standards – WCAG 2.0; ANSI C Provide technical assistance within the document. 4. Define “covered electronic content”

2011 ANPRM 508 Chapter 1: Application and Administration 508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements 255 Chapter 1: Application and Administration 255 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements Chapter 3: Functional Performance Criteria Chapter 4: Hardware Chapter 5: Platforms and Applications Chapter 6: Documentation and Support Services

Resources CIOC Accessibility Committee: Best Practices subcommittee for Section 508: – FAQs, procurement – §508 & §255 WCAG 2.0 materials: UNDERSTANDING-WCAG 2.0 Techniques for WCAG 2.0

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Thank you!