Accessibility regs to change IT procurement, experts say

By next summer, new rules on making federal computer systems accessible to the disabled will change the way agencies buy, maintain and use electronic and information technology products.

Section 508 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act requires agencies to ensure that workers with disabilities have the same access to information and computers enjoyed by employees without disabilities, assuming doing so would not cause an undue burden on an agency.

Since the new legislation will have an impact on future products and services agencies use, federal contractors got an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the subject during a forum Tuesday sponsored by the Information Technology Association of America and Federal Sources Inc., a market research and consulting firm.

"If your product is not accessible, you're not reaching the full market," said Michael Mason, an attorney who served as a panelist at the forum.

Section 508 was added to the act because the original statute did not include ways to penalize federal agencies that did not comply with the law. Now, the governmentwide standards are incorporated into federal procurement regulations.

"In 1998 we realized [Section] 508 didn't have the intended impact," said Pat Morrissey, a senior consultant with Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc.

The federal Access Board hopes to issue final rules for Section 508 compliance before the end of the month, or, at the very latest, in January 2001.

The board must still define the term "electronic and information technology," as well as specify what makes them accessible, but Morrissey is confident that Section 508 will eventually spill over into the commercial workplace.

"It will cause developers and manufacturers to change the way they design products," she said, adding that accessibility features could become the norm.

The General Service Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, which is coordinating the Section 508 compliance effort, is holding seminars to educate federal stakeholders on the law's requirements, and has asked all agencies to appoint a compliance coordinator. Once the contracting regulations for the new law are in place, GSA will also offer orientation and training for procurement officials.

For more information about Section 508, go to www.section508.gov.