Section 508 Standards

Our center is funded by NIEHS and there is now much talk about being Section 508 compliant.

Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

I now will be reviewing the various web sites coming out of our center.  There are tools that check accessibility, such as A-Prompt.

Jeff reminds us that adding words to your audio or video podcast is a good idea because:

1. it makes your podcast accessible to the over one million deaf people in the United States, and over 28 million people that suffer from some sort of hearing loss
2. it can be used as a tool for people learning English as a second language and those working to improve their literacy skills
3. it can be viewed by people on their computer or mobile media device in places where the audio would be intrusive or they did not have or could not use headphones (i.e. @ work)