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Re: It's Official - New Sec. 508 is out

for

From: Dona Patrick
Date: Feb 20, 2015 3:14PM

Thanks Duff -- we are bound by Section 508 on our US Government contracts
-- so it applies what we do.

On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 12:35 PM, Duff Johnson < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> Hi Dona,
>
> > I've tried to propose to
> > my company that we use PDF/UA as a standard and this would force us to.
> >
> > Or am I reading it wrong?
>
> This Rule will not *force* any / every company to use PDF/UA as a standard
> for PDF documents (or WCAG 2.0 for web pages) unless Section 508 already
> applied.
>
> The Rule itself could be slightly more clearly stated, IMO, but PDF/UA is
> required "when applicable".
>
> On this page
>
>
> http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict-refresh/proposed-rule/v-major-issues
>
> The Access Board says:
>
> "The proposed rule would address these deficiencies in the existing 508
> Standards by clearly delineating the scope of covered electronic content,
> as well as specifying concrete, testable, technical requirements to ensure
> the accessibility of such content. The Board proposes that all covered
> electronic content would be required to conform to WCAG 2.0 Level A and
> Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements specified for Web
> pages or, where applicable, ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1)."
>
> And two paragraphs further on they give an example:
>
> "The central principle underlying the accessibility requirement for
> public-facing content is the notion that federal agencies must ensure equal
> access to electronic information that they themselves directly make
> available to the general public by posting on a public fora. So, for
> example, if a federal agency posts a PDF version of a recent settlement
> agreement on its website as part of a press release, that document would
> need to comply with PDF/UA-1."
>
> Duff.
> > > >