Updated January 20, 2023
The Accessibility of Federal Information and Data: A Brief
Overview of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
Nearly one in four Americans has a disability, according to
The Access Board is an independent agency responsible for
2018 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Congress has
establishing the Section 508 Standards. Thirteen members
recognized that in addition to making federal information
of the board are appointed by the President, of which at
and data available to the public, it must also be made
least a majority are individuals with disabilities. An
accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 of the
additional 12 members are the heads of certain executive
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112), as amended (29
agencies (or their designees). The board is authorized by
U.S.C. §794d), provides that federal information and data
statute to conduct investigations, hold public hearings, and
are to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
issue orders necessary to ensure compliance with various
Accessibility in this context means ensuring that members
accessibility standards (29 U.S.C. §792(e)(1)).
of the public and federal employees with disabilities have
access to and use of information and data that is comparable
Section 508 Standards
to what is provided to people without disabilities.
The Access Board issued the first EIT accessibility
standards in 2000 (referred to as the “Original 508
These statutory requirements—commonly known to
Standards”). The standards were revised in 2017 (often
practitioners as Section 508—concern the accessibility of
called the “Revised 508 Standards”). The board has the
electronic and information technology (EIT) of federal
authority to periodically amend the standards to reflect
departments and agencies. The law’s coverage and
technology advances or changes in EIT (29 U.S.C.
requirements illustrate the evolution of accessibility policy
§794d(a)(2)(B)).
in the United States and how Congress has addressed the
changing nature of barriers confronted by people with
Accessible electronic data and information. The
disabilities.
standards are published in the Code of Federal Regulations
(36 C.F.R. §1194 Appendix A). They direct executive
Using accessible EIT may advance inclusion, equity, and
agencies and the USPS to ensure that all information and
innovation among and for people with disabilities. Research
communication technology (ICT) is accessible and usable
also suggests that providing accessible EIT improves the
by individuals with disabilities, either directly or with the
experiences of users both with and without disabilities.
use of assistive technology. ICT includes the technologies,
equipment, systems, or processes that create, manipulate,
This In Focus provides an overview of Section 508, as well
store, display, receive, or transmit electronic data and
as the standards for information technology and data
information, as well as any associated content. The
accessibility that are set by the Architectural and
standards apply to
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also referred to
as the Access Board in 29 U.S.C. §792(a)(1)).
hardware (e.g., a desktop computer; a cell phone);
Section 508 Statutory Requirements
software and applications, including user interfaces
When Section 508 was first added to the Rehabilitation Act
(e.g., a word processing computer program);
in 1986 (P.L. 99-506), the statute was concerned with the
accessibility of electronic office equipment to people with
electronic content, including public-facing content such
disabilities. Congress substantially amended Section 508 as
as agency webpages (e.g., an online application portal);
part of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-
and
220) requiring federal agencies, including the U.S. Postal
Service (USPS), to develop, procure, maintain, or use
certain official, nonpublic-facing electronic content that
electronic and information technology that is accessible to
constitutes an agency’s official business (e.g., training
federal employees and members of the public seeking
materials; an intranet page).
information, data, or services.
The Section 508 Standards incorporate several standards for
The law requires the creation of standards to implement the
ICT developed by standard-setting entities outside the
requirements necessary for accessible EIT (29 U.S.C.
federal government, including the Web Content
§794d(a)(2)(A)). Furthermore, these standards are to be
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. The WCAG 2.0 is
incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and
an international standard developed in 2008 by the World
each federal agency is to incorporate the standards into
Wide Web Consortium. The WCAG 2.0 provides direction
procurement policies and directives under its control (29
on how to present information and data on the internet in
U.S.C. §794d(a)(3)).
specific ways that meet the specific needs of individuals
with disabilities. The WCAG 2.0 focuses on four
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The Accessibility of Federal Information and Data: A Brief Overview of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
“principles of accessibility:” Content must be “perceivable,
permitted under the law and the Section 508 Standards.
operable, understandable, and robust.” As websites become
These exemptions to compliance include, among others: (1)
increasingly dynamic and interactive, questions may remain
lack of commercially available ICT, (2) compliance that
over whether Section 508 and the WCAG 2.0 can ensure
creates an “undue burden” to an agency, and (3) ICT that
accessibility to these evolving forms of content.
would require a “fundamental alteration.” For these specific
exemptions, an agency must provide access to the
Agency Compliance with Section 508
information and data by an alternative means that meets the
Agency Roles. Section 508 requires the Access Board and
identified needs of individuals with disabilities.
General Services Administration (GSA) to provide
technical assistance to individuals and federal agencies on
Availability of Reporting. OMB requires the largest
the law’s requirements (29 U.S.C. §794d(b)). In 2013, the
agencies (i.e., those named in the Chief Financial Officers
Office of Federal Procurement Policy within the Office of
[CFO] Act) to report twice a year on the maturity of their
Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum to
ICT accessibility program. Non–CFO Act agencies are also
agencies with a strategic plan to improve Section 508
encouraged to report. The reporting supports the Chief
implementation and management. The memo said Section
Information Officers Council and GSA efforts to improve
508 implementation at the time was inconsistent. It called
the management of accessibility programs, reduce
for a more comprehensive plan to build and sustain an
redundancies, and improve collaboration across agencies.
accessible federal technology environment. The plan called
for GSA to develop a one-stop source of information for
On a biweekly basis, GSA monitors agency conformance to
agencies to successfully implement and manage compliance
some of the Section 508 Standards by scanning the
with Section 508. The website it created is
homepage of each federal government website. The results
http://www.section508.gov.
of the scan are contained in an accessibility compliance and
conformance dashboard that is currently available to certain
The OMB memo required each agency chief information
government users within federal agencies.
officer to establish a Section 508 program with a Section
508 coordinator. Contact information for Section 508
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is required to submit a
coordinators is publicly available on the Section 508
biennial report to the President and Congress containing
website. Section 508 coordinators develop and maintain
information and recommendations on the state of federal
policies that implement information and communications
agency compliance with Section 508 and actions that
technology accessibility laws and regulations in their
agencies have taken on allegations of noncompliance (29
agency, such as procurement, software development, and
U.S.C. §794d(d)(2)). According to DOJ’s Section 508
content development and publication policies. Coordinators
webpage, the most recent report it issued was in 2012.
are also to ensure that information and computer technology
meet the “success criteria” established in the Section 508
Issues for Congress
Standards and assess and report on compliance activities to
The extent to which Section 508 is successful in ensuring
OMB.
EIT and ICT are accessible to people with disabilities is
difficult to ascertain despite the number of institutions,
Allegations of Noncompliance. Federal employees and
roles, and activities that are involved in its implementation.
members of the public may submit complaints to federal
This raises several potential issues Congress may consider:
agencies alleging noncompliance with Section 508’s
accessibility requirements (29 U.S.C. §794d(f)(2)).
Congress could require that GSA’s accessibility
Agencies must resolve Section 508 complaints using their
compliance and conformance dashboard is available to
internal procedures for complaints under Section 504 of the
the public to improve accountability to the public across
Rehabilitation Act, which, among other things, prohibits
executive agencies. Congress may also seek to require
disability discrimination by executive agencies and the
GSA to incorporate additional areas of Section 508
USPS (29 U.S.C. §794(a)).
compliance into the dashboard to better inform
assessments of implementation.
Courts generally hold that individuals cannot sue federal
agencies under Section 508 unless they claim that the
To increase knowledge of the benefits and costs of
agencies violated the law in their capacity as providers of
making EIT accessible, Congress may call for a study of
federal financial assistance. Instead, federal employees can
federal customer experiences with accessible ICT and
sue under Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, which
the challenges of providing accessible EIT.
prohibits disability discrimination in federal employment
(29 U.S.C. §791), while members of the public can sue
Congress may take action to ensure that it receives
under Section 504. A violation of Section 508 may also be a
current reporting from DOJ on the state of agency
violation of Sections 501 or 504 of the Rehabilitation Act,
compliance with Section 508 and on the resolution of
but the standards for determining the violations are not
Section 508 complaints. Congress could also examine
identical. Some courts and federal agencies have suggested
whether the Access Board is sufficiently involved in
that plaintiffs may also be able to enforce Section 508 in
issues of Section 508 noncompliance to better assess the
court through the Administrative Procedure Act.
extent to which noncompliance is a significant issue.
Exemptions and Alternative Means. Several exemptions
Natalie R. Ortiz, Analyst in Government Organization and
to an agency’s compliance with ICT accessibility are
Management
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The Accessibility of Federal Information and Data: A Brief Overview of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
IF12093
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12093 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED