The statute known as Section 508 mandates that all individuals, including those with disabilities, can use the information and communications technology (ICT) that government agencies use.
This law covers a wide variety of government technology, including hardware, software, websites, and electronic information.
When buying or acquiring technology, federal agencies must keep the law in mind. Technology providers frequently use a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), an outliner for an VPAT compliance Report (ACR), to demonstrate how their product complies with the particular Section 508 accessibility requirements.
This post will address some information and restrictions of the ACR report as well as when, why, and how to employ a VPAT.
Table of Contents
Background of the VPAT
General Administration Services (the government’s central purchasing office) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) collaborated to develop a procedure for evaluating a product’s characteristics against Section 508 accessibility requirements in 2001. The VPAT was created to aid in market research on goods for procurement by the federal government.
The VPAT is periodically updated to stay abreast with technological advancements. The most recent version, 2.3, implements the standards set out by WCAG 2.0, which we’ll discuss in more depth later.
The function of a VPAT
According to Natalie maclees, an accessibility consultant at Digitally, formerly known as Purple Pen Productions, the VPAT was developed as a uniform method for businesses to inform decision-making federal government personnel about the accessibility of their digital products.
It is a voluntary template that vendors use to self-report their products, as its name suggests. Federal government agencies and organizations receiving federal funding are not permitted to buy or use a product unless it complies with Section 508’s requirements for accessibility. Vendors should therefore highlight the requirements that their products satisfy.
It’s still advantageous to produce a report even if a seller isn’t associated with the federal government because it aids customers in determining whether the item is suitable for their particular requirements. Customers can identify precisely which portions of the report deal with specific areas of concern.
Utilizing a VPAT
The ITI website offers a download for the whole VPAT. There are two parts:
- Guidelines and procedures for testing accessibility
- Compliance with Accessibility Report (ACR)
The rules and the right way to test in accordance with the provided criteria are explained in the instructions and best practices section. Only internal use is permitted for this section of the template.
The ACR, also known as the Section 508 compliance checklist, is the actual documentation element. Consumers and prospective buyers review this section of the report.
“An ACR is a snapshot of the current accessibility state of a specific piece of technology,” claims maclees. It contains details regarding the VPAT testing procedures and is laid out in a number of tables and columns. Additionally, it lists the standards that were examined and provides a description of how the technology performed against each standard.
Areas of the ACR
The ACR is a list of requirements that includes Section 508 requirements as well as WCAG 2.0 recommendations. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG 2.0, are a globally accepted collection of recommendations for making web content accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Only governmental ICT is subject to Section 508 standards, but there are some WCAG 2.0 requirements that also apply to Section 508.
