Overcoming Barriers to ICT through Accessibility

1. 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

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

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. II. Barriers to People with Disabilities

7. Have you ever struggled to seethe characters on a screen?

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

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

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

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

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

13. Overview • Telecommunications Act of 199647 U.S.C. §255 • “Section 255” • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 29 U.S.C. § 794 (d) • “Section 508”

14. Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act Overview

15. § 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

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

17. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Overview

18. §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.

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

20. Who Benefits from § 508 1. 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.

21. IV. What about modern technology?

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

23. 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

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

25. 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

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

27. 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

28. Multi-touch interfaces: • Apple iPhone • HP TouchSmart PC HP TouchSmart PC

29. Gesture-based interfaces • Wii

30. V. The Refresh of Section 508

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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 C63.19-2011 3. Provide technical assistance within the document. 4. Define “covered electronic content”

36. 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

37. Resources CIOC Accessibility Committee: www.CIO.gov Best Practices subcommittee for Section 508: http://www.cio.gov/committees.cfm/csec/3/cid/\ www.Section508.gov – FAQs, procurement www.Access-board.gov – §508 & §255 WCAG 2.0 materials: http://www.w3.org • UNDERSTANDING-WCAG 2.0 • Techniques for WCAG 2.0

38. Contact us: Technical assistance: • Creagan@access-board.gov • 508@access-board.gov • (800) 872-2253 (voice) • (800) 993-2822 (TTY) Website: • http://www.access-board.gov

39. Thank you!