Section Road Goes to 508 College

1
Section Road Goes to 508 College

• Gaeir Dietrich ? Director
• High Tech Center Training Unitof the California
  Community Colleges
• www.htctu.net

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What is Section 508?

• Federal law
• Part of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in
  1998
• Section 508 standards added in 2001
• Previously was a guideline standards carry the
  weight of law.
• Applies to federal government

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Section 508

• Applies to electronic and information technology
  (EIT)
• Includes Web access/development and software
  development
• At its heart, Section 508 is procurement law.

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The 508 Philosophy

• Section 508 is about creating an open door.
• Section 508 uses the purchasing power of the
  government to induce vendors to create accessible
  products.
• The overall goal of Section 508 is a more
  accessible society.

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However

• States are not part of the federal government.
• Your college is not part of the federal
  government.

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State Laws

• All 50 states have laws on Web access
• 23 states have statutes, policies, regulations,
  or guidelines regarding procurement

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Scope

• Scope of applicability varies state to state.
• Some states have requirements that carry the
  weight of law others are guidelines.
• Georgia Tech has listing of state laws
• http//accessibility.gtri.gatech.edu/sitid/stateLa
  wAtGlance.php

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Access vs. accommodation

• Putting the Law in Context Section 504 vs.
  Section 508

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Section 504 vs. Section 508

• Section 504 addresses individual disability
  needs.
• Section 508 addresses the infrastructure that
  allows access.

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Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Section 504 is about accommodation.
• Disability service offices were created to deal
  with 504.
• Section 508 is about access.
• At its heart Section 508 is procurement law
• Campuswide responsibility

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A Campus Analogy

• Section 504
• Deaf student requests that videos for her class
  be captioned
• Section 508
• New videos must be captioned before being shown
  in the classroom for the first time

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Access vs. Accommodation
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Buying Under 508

• At its heart, Section 508 is procurement law

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Electronic and Information Technology

• EIT

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Where Do We Begin

• Only electronic and information technology (EIT)
  is covered by Section 508.
• First determine if the proposed purchase is EIT.

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Categories of EIT

• Software applications and operating systems
• Web-based information and applications
• Telecommunications products
• Video and multimedia products
• Self-contained, closed products (e.g., many
  office products, kiosks)
• Desktop and portable computers

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Examples of EIT under 508

• Fax Machines
• Scanners
• Printers
• Copiers
• PDAs
• Computers
• Computer software
• Computer operating systems

• Phones
• Information kiosks
• ATMs
• Multimedia
• Videos
• World Wide Web

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Not EIT under 508

• Microwaves (unless it sends faxes, too)
• Coffee makers
• Heating and ventilation systems
• Thermostats
• Tables, desks, and chairs

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The Gray Area

• Back office EIT is exempted
• Must literally be somewhere that people do not go
  all the time
• Applies to equipment that only technicians
  interact with

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Procurement Process
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How to Buy under 508

• Functional requirements drive the procurement,
  not Section 508.
• First determine your business needs.
• Then consider 508 accessibility.

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Functional Requirements

• Determining may be an iterative process at first
• Figure out some requirementsresearch
  productsrealize other requirements

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Reframe Your Thinking

• Its not, I have this much to spend.
• Its, This is what the machine needs to do.
• However, you can look at machines in the price
  range you want in order to see what the features
  are.

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How much will it cost?

• Typically the more accessible products cost the
  same as or little more than any other product in
  their class.
• However, the only time cost is taken into account
  is in the case of a tie!
• But remember, only buy the functionality you need.

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Four Exemptions

• Fundamental alteration
• Product does not do what is required
• Technical infeasibility
• Not possible to make it accessible
• Commercially unavailable
• It doesnt exist
• Undue burden
• Would have to prove the cost is high enough to
  cause a fundamental disruption of the
  organization
• Burden of proof on defendant

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Bottom Line

• Focus on the functional requirements and you
  wont have to worry too much about the exemptions
• If no accessible products meet your functional
  requirements, you still buy what you need.

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Summary

• Determine functional requirements
• Determine what products are available
• Pick the most accessible product
• Consider exemptions if necessary

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Videos

• Section 508 Implementation Example

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Section 508 on Videos

• (c) All training and informational video and
  multimedia productions which support the agency's
  mission, regardless of format, that contain
  speech or other audio information necessary for
  the comprehension of the content, shall be open
  or closed captioned.

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Interpretation

• Videos must be captioned before they are shown in
  the classroom for the first time
• Uncaptioned videos may be purchased and someone
  (ordering department?) pays to have them
  captioned
• Under 508, captioning required whether or not
  deaf students will be in the class

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Captioning and DE

• Raw footage exempt
• Single use, restricted use, not archived
• Restricted access materials
• If no users require captions, do not need
• Transcripts
• Not sufficient for video (must have synchronized
  text and video)
• Fine for audio-only podcasts

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A Word about Captions

• Always done in the language spoken in the video
• Spanish language videos would be captioned in
  Spanish, not English
• Subtitles not the same, but often will do
• Include all auditory content, not just speech
• Slamming doors, barking dogs, laughter, etc. are
  all included in text descriptions

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Be Aware

• Closed captions are turned on and off with a
  decoder
• Televisions (since the 80s) have decoders built
  in not all overhead projectors do
• Epson and Panasonic make projectors with decoders
• External decoders can be purchased

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Mesa College Solution

• Every video purchase goes to A/V Librarian
• Librarian researches what is available closed
  captioned
• If the requested video is not captioned, offers
  an alternate suggestion
• Requesting department can purchase alternate or
  pay to caption the original title

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Case Study

• Higher ed in California has begun to implement
  the Section 508 Standards

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Real-world Experiences

• California State Universities (CSU)
• All 23 campuses have plans
• What implementation has meant
• Including it at the end is not working
• Need to make accessibility part of the workflow
• Training must occur
• Resources and time must be allocated

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Ideal World

• Accessibility needs to be considered right from
  the beginning
• Ask at the start, Is the purchase EIT?
• If it is, then use the procurement process for
  buying accessible under Section 508.

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Partnership Model

• San José State
• Disability services, information services, and
  procurement work together to implement Section 508

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San José State Solution

• Requestor gathers documentation
• Determines business needs and generates three
  product suggestionsworks with IT to determine
  functional needs
• Submits packet to procurement
• Procurement checks for completeness
• Packet goes to disability services
• Disability services checks accessibility scores
• Packet returned to procurement for final
  check-off and purchase

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Staffing

• Procurement staff
• One person in charge of Section 508 purchasing
• Disability services
• One person in charge of checking accessibility
• Currently implemented for purchases 15,000

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Take Home Lessons

• Someone must be responsible
• Literally, whose desk will it land on if there is
  a complaint
• Procedures must fit into existing workflows
• Forms must be in place
• Training must be ongoing
• Staff must be allocated
• A champion can only go so far alone

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Lessons continued

• Start small
• Pick a procurement level to start at (e.g.
  purchases gt 50,000
• Work out the issues then implement with smaller
  purchases

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Final Thoughts
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Access Only Goes So Far

• Part of buying accessible is to ensure that
  products work with assistive technology
• Individual needs must still be accommodated
• Buying accessible will reduce, not alleviate, the
  need for individual accommodation

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More Information

• http//www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/index.htm
  
• http//www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/report/
  
• http//www.calstate.edu/Accessibility/webaccessibi
  lity/evaluation/index.shtml