Accessibility
Access for Everyone
It's really about doing the right thing. It's about helping 65 million Americans with disabilities achieve transparent access to information. Aging baby boomers now in the workforce will need some of the technology solutions emerging from Section 508 efforts. The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) works to ensure access for disabled citizens and employees to its information and technology.
Follow Federal Accessibility Guidelines
Federal officials say adhering to Section 508 regulations and improving accessibility for people with disabilities make good business sense. Enabling everyone to do their jobs, using the tools that help them best do their jobs, is simply good business and helps individuals become fully integrated into the workplace.
The Purpose of this Webpage
Although not required by regulation or law, LDR seeks to bring its site into basic compliance with Section 508 Standard of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). Section 508 requires that when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, federal employees with disabilities have access and use of information and data that are comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. These provisions of the standards provide the requirements that must be followed by federal agencies. Compliance requires adherence to the Section 508 Standard, Section (1194.22) Paragraphs A through P.
Resources
To assist with implementation of Section 508 requirements, the following resources are available:
Federal Resources
Here's a list of links for those seeking information on Section 508 and its impact on agencies and industry suppliers. First stop for anyone interested in learning more is the Section 508 Web site:
- Federal IT Accessibility Initiative: Section 508 requirements, training, how to buy accessible products, and how to join the organizations working to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
- Section 508 FAQs: FAQ page for Section 508. Learn what it entails, and find answers to a variety of questions regarding how to comply with the regulations.
- Section 508 Access Board (Federal)
- Summary of Section 508 Standards
- Section 508 Web Accessibility Training (Federal)
More Links
There are some sites that focus on metrics and statistics as they relate to accessibility and persons with disabilities. Visit any of the following sites to gather more data on people with disabilities.
W3C Resources
The The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) offers some good tools and information in addition to the Federal Section 508 Guidelines.
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
- W3C HTML Validation Service
- W3C Evaluation/Repair Tools
- W3C Better Web Browsing