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Re: Section 508 Testing/Section 508 Refresh

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From: Bevi Chagnon | PubCom
Date: Jun 6, 2011 11:06AM

Jennifer wrote:
" we're wondering which standards they'll use to test by."

If the notice came from a U.S. Federal government agency (and I'm assuming
it did), you can only be assessed according to current Section 508 standards
and guidelines, not the forthcoming ones due out late this year/early next
year.

The U.S. Access Board writes the "regs" (or standards) for accessibility.
The current standards are here:
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm (look under "current standards")

The current standards were enacted 10 years ago, long before WCAG 2.0 was
released. Therefore if you're meeting WCAG 2.0 now, you probably will pass
the current standards test.

Keep in mind that the forthcoming new standards will encompass WCAG 2.0, so
you'll be in good shape when they are released down the road. However, the
testers might make recommendations for future compliance under the new
standards.

And Duff's comment about PDFs is critical: The current standards are vague
about PDFs but the industry is now taking the viewpoint that anything that
can be stored or viewed via web technology must be accessible, and that
includes PDFs, Word documents, Powerpoints, Excel spreadsheets...the whole
enchilada.

This loophole will be closed when the new standards are released. Thank
goodness!

Jennifer wrote:
" Do they use real people to test objectively? Or do they run it through a
validator?"

Yes, and yes.

--Bevi Chagnon