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Accessibility

NTL Section 508 Accessibility Guide to Digital Submissions

Federal Rule

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines 83 FR 2912 Final Rule as published in the Federal Register Issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (U.S. Access Board https://www.access-board.gov/). 

These standards address access to ICT under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.  All public facing electronic documents published after March 23, 2018, must be accessible according to the final Federal rule.  Agencies shall ensure that all functionality of ICT is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, either directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology.  This includes web sites, videos, and electronic documents.  Agencies shall ensure the following:

  1. That Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and
  2. That members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or data from a Federal agency have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

For inclusion in ROSA P: NTL Repository & Open Science Access Portal https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/, ROSA P submitters should run the Accessibility Check under Tools in Adobe and make the PDF as accessible as possible. 

See GSA’s Government-wide Section 508 Accessibility Program (https://section508.gov/) for help creating accessible documents.  Includes tutorials and tools. 

How do I know if this applies to me? 

Like the original 508 Standards, the updated 508 Standards apply to a federal agency’s full range of public-facing content, including websites, documents and media, blog posts, and social media sites. 

The final rule also specifically lists the types of non-public-facing content that must comply. This includes electronic content used by a federal agency for official business to communicate: emergency notifications, initial or final decisions adjudicating administrative claims or proceedings, internal or external program or policy announcements, notices of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunities or personnel actions, formal acknowledgements or receipts, questionnaires or surveys, templates or forms, educational or training materials, and web-based intranets. 

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