Section 508

In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities. The law (29 U.S.C § 794 (d)) applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology.

It wasn't until December 21, 2000, that the U.S. Access Board issued the original Section 508 Standards.

Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information comparable to the access available to others. The Section 508 Standards, which are part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ensure access for people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.

The U.S. Access Board is responsible for developing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility standards to incorporate into regulations that govern Federal procurement practices. On January 18, 2017, the Access Board issued a final rule that updated accessibility requirements covered by Section 508, and refreshed guidelines for telecommunications equipment subject to Section 255 of the Communications Act. Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also operate as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents.

The Section 508 Refresh in 2017 also helped to synchronize the U.S. federal government with worldwide accessibility standards such as the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The final rule went into effect on January 18, 2018.