Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act—a Primer

You may or may not have heard of this before... many people haven't. Many have heard the phrases "Section 508" or "508 compliant," but don't know what it means. Yet, if you are among the ranks of the disabled, or if you happen to be a government worker, or an architect or civil engineer, or involved in public relations or marketing, you are probably aware of one of the most important actions to generally assist the disabled in American history.

If you've ever stepped off of a curb that gently slopes down onto the street, you've seen one of the most obvious effects of it.

It is the Rehabilitation Act, originally known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, a Federal bill that details how to modify infrastructures, and provide information in multiple formats, to allow physically-challenged Americans to have the same access to public services and information as anyone else. The Rehabilitation Act symbolizes America's desire to grant all of its citizens equal rights and opportunities, no matter how disadvantaged physically.

As I indicated with the example of the wheel-accessible curbs, many of its tools are all around us: Wheelchair access ramps; braille signs; closed-captioned television sets; "iconographs" (like the man and woman images on restroom doors); these are some of the most obvious. But the act mandates even more, such as lowering work spaces to accommodate persons in wheelchairs, or providing equipment that can be operated by those less dextrous or maneuverable.

And here is where Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act comes in. Section 508 dictates a set of rules for designing a Web site, to allow persons with disabilities to be able to access those sites as easily as anyone else. The rules are not intended to be an aesthetic guide, merely a practical design guide. The net result of following those guidelines should be a Web page that someone who is blind, say, can still read (or hear), or a paraplegic can still navigate.

How is this done? The goals of Section 508 have been adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium, the body responsible for the overall design of the Web. This body, also known as the W3C, controls the basic programming language by which the Web functions, known as Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML. The W3C used the 508 guidelines to outline appropriate HTML code that can accomplish the desired results for compliance in any browser. It is then up to a Web site programmer who wants their site to be compliant with 508 guidelines to use that code specified by the W3C.

Using the W3C code, a programmer can create a Web page that can be read by a "text reader," a device that can read the contents of a Web page aloud (or translate it into braille) to someone who can't see the page. Even complex items like tables can be read properly by these readers, if they are properly coded. Compliant Web pages are also designed to be easier to navigate, especially for those who have limited mobility and cannot manipulate a page as easily as others. And navigation information becomes more intuitive and direct, more user-friendly. The W3C also encourages the various Web browsers on the market to render the HTML code the same way, to ensure that the 508 code works as expected on any platform. Due to commercial interests and competition, some browsers are more 508 compliant than others (for example, at the time of this writing, the Netscape/Mozilla browser is more 508-compliant than Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser), but most of the 508 code works on all of the latest browsers.

The Federal government has already mandated that all government Web sites must be 508-compliant, that is, that they must use the W3C codes to achieve maximum access for all the public. In addition, the Fed has mandated that all of its web production vendors must also follow the guidelines of the Rehabilitation Act, which means that their Web sites are expected to be 508-compliant as well. It is hoped that, through influence, the 508 guidelines will "trickle-down" to most Web sites in the U.S.

And in fact, many sectors of America are following suit. Most state and county governments are adopting the 508 standards. Many Web sites, including those owned by companies who do no business with the government, have recognized that making their sites 508-compliant is a positive public relations move, at least, and at best, just the right thing to do. Retail industry, mindful of a sector of the public that is often overlooked in the marketplace, are working to become more friendly to the disabled. And even private sites are following Section 508 guidelines, again, because they know it is the right thing to do.

Existing Web sites can be modified by qualified HTML programmers to bring them into compliance, and often the modifications are not that severe. In cases where modification is not feasible within the design of the existing site, a compliant "mirror site" is sometimes used. And some companies use 508 as an excuse to do a major redesign of their site. Either way, it's never too late to adopt the 508 guidelines. And it's worth all the effort.

For more information, visit Section 508: The Road to Accessibility.