Agency-wide IT Accessibility Policy

Introduction

The cornerstone of an accessibility program is an agency-wide Information Technology (IT) policy. An IT policy must drive agency accessibility activities, define authorities, roles and responsibilities, and set expectations for all. To ensure equal access to information for people with disabilities, implementation must be coordinated and consistent. The multiple concurrent, often overlapping, activities generally include policy development, IT governance, training, and technical assistance. An effective accessibility policy will include these items:

• States agency purpose and commits to ensuring equal access to information for people with disabilities;
• Identifies associated laws, regulations, and agency policies linking law to practice;
• Defines terminology to reduce misunderstanding;
• Manages accessibility through scoping and organizational structure; and
• Identifies stakeholders, authorities, roles, and responsibilities.
   

Best Practice Guidelines

The Purpose Statement

The agency-wide policy will establish the institutional structure to integrate IT and non-IT functions. A purpose statement will outline the scope of the policy, link policy to its statutory or regulatory authority, describe the structure of an agency’s Section 508 program, and may link to its stated accessibility goal or objective. It is critical for the policy to set expectations and commit to the goal of equal access to information and systems for people with disabilities. Consider this sample language derived from DHS and VA policies:

• This Directive establishes the [Agency XYZ] Section 508 Coordinator within the Office of [the CIO, an agency IT component, HR, Civil Liberties, etc.] and provides oversight of and establishes accessibility policies regarding the development, acquisition, use, and maintenance of Electronic and Information Technology (EIT).
• The Section 508 Coordinator shall establish policies, practices, guidance, and training to ensure that employees and members of the public have equivalent access to Electronic and Information Technology as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220).
• Section 508 obligates US Federal Agencies to provide people with disabilities, whether federal employees or members of the public who seek agency services, access to Electronic and Information Technology comparable to that provided to persons who are not disabled, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.
• This policy supports one of [Agency XYZ]'s stated goals: [example from VA Strategic Plan "To create an environment that fosters the delivery of One-VA world class service to VA employees, veterans and their families through effective communication and management of people, technology, business processes, and financial resources."]

Legal and Regulatory Authority

Identify relevant laws, regulations, and complementary agency requirements when writing an accessibility policy. The policy should identify its obligation under the law (PL 105-220) and regulation (36 CFR 1194). To retain clarity and context, refer to sections of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 including civil liberties (Section 501 and 503), reasonable accommodation (Section 504), and Section 508 FAR requirements. Also of note, the Clinger-Cohen Act defines Information Technology and sets National Security exception criteria. The following list provides good examples:

• Public Law 105-220, “Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in the Workforce Reinvestment Act of 1998”
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
• Title 40, U.S.C., 11101 (6), “Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996”
• Title 44, U.S.C., § 3501, “E-Government Act of 2002“
• Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1194, “Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards”
• Title 48, CFR, 39.204, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), “Acquisition of Information Technology”
• Federal Acquisition Regulation, Final FAR Ruling 48, CFR Parts 2, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 39 (FAC 97-27; FAR Case 1999-607)
• Public Law 105-220, Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 USC 794d)
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “Management of Federal Information Resources” (61 FR 6428, February 20, 1996)
• 29 CFR Part 32, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs and Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance
• Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996
• Agency-specific policies and directives that relate to accessibility, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodations

Identifying Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders and Authorities

An effective policy will identify stakeholders who must coordinate with the agency’s Section 508 Coordinator and relate how they cooperate with each other. Stakeholders specific names will depend on an agency’s organizational structure; this list outlines many an agency may need to identify and define:

• Chief Information Officer
• Agency Section 508 Coordinator
• Component Section 508 Coordinators
• Chief Acquisition Officer
• Chief Human Capital Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• Agency General Council
• Web content administrators or Webmasters
• Equal Employment Opportunity and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties offices
• Custom development offices
• Quality assurance or independent validation and verification organizations
• Component Directors/Commissioners/Deputies

Process Gates

Clearly identify process “gatekeepers” to leverage their roles within existing processes. Gatekeepers may include IT governance components such as change control boards, IT policy owners, enterprise architecture boards, and acquisition officials.

Policy Scope

When developing the scope of a policy, consider whether the policy will be modular with separate policies for individual areas, or a single all-inclusive policy. With benefits and tradeoffs for both, the deciding factor may be your agency’s policymaking practices and organizational structure. Browse this list of possible Section 508 policy topics you should consider under scope:

• Procurement—standards, review, authorization;
• Internet—standards, governance, management;
• Intranet—standards, governance, management;
• eLearning and Webinars—standards, governance, management;
• Electronic Documents—applicability, authoring, review, and accessibility reporting;
• Multimedia—standards, governance, management;
• Social Media and Cloud Computing—applicability, authorities, procedures;
• Applicability of open source applications;
• Systems/software life cycle; and
• Approved Section 508 evaluation procedures.

Outlining an Exception Process

Assign an authority to approve Section 508 exceptions, usually the Section 508 Coordinator. Because exceptions create conditions and risks, a reasonable accommodation plan should accompany the exception request. Include a provision to address exception authorization:

The Section 508 Coordinator shall have the authority to authorize exceptions from the Section 508 standards.

Relationship between Section 508 Coordinator and Other Agency Stakeholders

Agency policy establishes how the Section 508 coordinator supports other accessibility stakeholders, and how stakeholders work together. For example, a Section 508 Program Office can serve as technical and procedural advisor to general council, a training center can develop programs for accessibility, and a Section 508 Coordinator can represent its agency in interagency and regulatory efforts. Consider these examples from DHS policy:

• Participates in [Agency name], interagency, and industrial and professional organizations related to Section 508 activities;
• Provides technical assistance to [Agency Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Components (CRCL)] and component-level Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) offices related to investigating Section 508-related complaints;
• Supports the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), CRCL, Section 508 Coordinators, Chief Human Capital Officer, and Web Content Managers (or equivalent) by cooperatively developing, selecting, and conducting appropriate educational activities and resources.

Because Section 504 Reasonable Accommodation is closely tied to IT and Section 508, agency policy should link these functions as in this example from VA and DHS policy:

Collaborate with and provide technical assistance to the [office that manages reasonable accommodations] to ensure employees who require accommodation in the form of adaptive technology receive appropriate guidance.

When an organization maintains sub-agency or component Section 508 Programs or Coordinators, it must define their roles, relationships, and responsibilities. These positions, often with a more limited scope, mirror the Section 508 Coordinator. This example from DHS policy demonstrates delegation and one limitation regarding exception approvals:

Component level Section 508 Coordinators will review and determine validity of EIT purchase requests that claim a Section 508 exception; the [Agency-level Section 508 Coordinator] will handle requests claiming Undue Burden or National Security exceptions.

Benefits

An agency-wide policy will establish roles, authority, responsibilities, and relationships for an effective accessibility program. Whether your agency is developing its first policy or refining an existing policy, it can benefit from the insights of other agencies:

• The most common element in effective policies is that each stakeholder in an agency has an explicit role and expectations;
• Stakeholders know where to go for expertise and other resources; and
• An agency-wide policy makes its statutory and regulatory responsibilities patently visible and its approach explicitly expressed.