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RE: Question on monitoring Section 508 compliance

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From: Cynthia Waddell
Date: Jan 11, 2006 3:00PM

MessageDear Lyn:
You asked about who is monitoring website conformance to Section 508 at the
federal level. I am one of the early ongoing trainers for the federal
Section 508 Coordinators and have been engaged in assisting agencies in
implementation. As you probably know, USGSA is the agency responsible for
providing technical assistance to all federal agencies as they set up and
implement their Section 508 plans.

One could say that there are at least two vehicles for monitoring website
conformance. The first is that Section 508 requires the US Department of
Justice to provide a status report on compliance with Section 508 to
Congress and the President every two years. The USDOJ has typically
gathered this information by requiring every federal agency to complete a
survey. This self-evaluation is then compiled by USDOJ for publication and
includes data on website conformance to Section 508. You can see these
reports at the USDOJ website at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/.

The second type of monitoring vehicle is the fact that Section 508
compliance is complaint driven. This means that federal employees with
disabilities and members of the public with disabilities can file a
complaint that a website is not accessible. The complaint process is the
same as that handled under Section 504.

If you are concerned about a particular federal agency website, it would be
helpful to convey your concerns to the Section 508 Coordinator for that
agency who resides within the CIO department. Feel free to contact me
off-list if there are further issues you would like to address about 508
compliance. My Section 508 work involves services for both government and
business.

Best regards,
Cynthia Waddell

--------------------------------------
Cynthia D. Waddell, JD
Executive Director and
Law, Policy and Technology Consultant
International Center for Disability Resources
on the Internet (ICDRI)
Phone: (408) 691-6921

ICDRI is based in
Raleigh, North Carolina USA
www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/cynthia_waddell.htm

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Constructing Accessible Web Sites
www.icdri.org/constructing_accessible_web_site.htm

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