Panel issues new federal accessibility standards

The federal Access Board last week proposed a new set of standards aimed at making federal information systems more accessible to federal employees and to citizens with disabilities.

The Access Board drafted the standards to implement 1998 amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The law requires agencies to ensure that federal employees with disabilities have access to information and to computers and networks comparable to the access enjoyed by federal employees without disabilities, unless it would cause an undue burden on an agency.

"These are the proposed standards for the government to follow when it purchases equipment to ensure access to employees or members of the public with disabilities," said Doug Wakefield, an accessibility specialist with the Access Board. "This is about employment and increasing the productivity, advancement opportunities and opportunities [in general] for those with disabilities."

After receiving public comments until May 31, the Access Board will create a final set of requirements that are supposed to be incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as of Aug. 7. However, the board is considering an extension to Sept. 30. The FAR governs how the federal government purchases goods and services.

It can be hard for people who are blind or are mobility-impaired to use a mouse with a computer, Wakefield said. In this case, companies would need to provide mechanisms besides mice for screen navigation for users.

Another proposed standard would enable users to shut off the key repeat function. This function enables users to hold down a key once and have the character repeat again and again. Such feature can be troublesome to users with a spastic condition or a palsy, Wakefield said.

On a keyboard, he said. arrow keys and the number pad should be separate enough for sight-impaired users who are good typists to figure out where the special keys are, Wakefield said. "Some laptops out there are literally just a sea of keys," Wakefield said.

Other proposed standards include:

• Users should be able to navigate software by use of keystrokes.
• Computer and machine controls should require only a single hand for operation. They should not make that hand grasp, pinch or call for the user to twist their wrist.
• Touch screens must include an alternate mode of operation that does not require body contact or close proximity.
• Text explanations must be attached to icons on the computer screen.

The proposed standards also are meant to give disabled citizens better access to government information, primarily over the Web.

One part of the draft would require agencies to include a text tag that identifies an image on a Web page. In other words, every non-text element of a Web page would require textual explanation. Another proposed standard would require text-based navigation prompts in addition to the widely used image maps that help users navigate a site.

Other Web site standards include:

• Web sites should not include navigation prompts that require users to identify specific colors.
• Web pages should be accessible even when specific applets or objects are not supported by a browser.
• Multimedia presentations should be accompanied by alternative presentations that do not rely on sound or video.

Agencies that are developing kiosks to enable public access to government information would have to ensure the kiosks are accessible to persons with sight and hearing disabilities, without requiring such users to attach various assistive technologies to the kiosk itself.

Information technology companies have been waiting for these draft standards for six weeks, said Olga Grkavac, executive vice president of the Information Technology Association of America. "Our members want to comply with the proposed standards and intend to be active in the commentary process," Grkavac said. But, Grkavac said, companies are worried about having to make changes in products in just six months.

The Access Board, formally known as the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, is an independent agency that creates accessibility standards required by laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act.