Don’t Discriminate! Make IT Accessible!

One of the most common questions I hear these days is, “Does 508 specifically apply to State of Texas Agencies and their Electronic and Information Resources?”

If you understand that the Texas State Accessibility Standard and the 508 Standard are almost exact copies of each other, then the answer is a resounding YES!

According to Texas Administrative Code (TAC 206.50) all state of Texas web sites must meet the Texas accessibility standard. The Texas accessibility standard (as laid out in TAC 206.50) is almost an exact copy of the Federal 508 standard. They basically did a copy and paste, and then the state of Texas made one change…they made it so captioning for multi-media (video/audio) is not required in advance. According to Texas state law, captioning must be provided on request. Everything else from the Federal 508 standard applies. And in reality, the state of Texas could still be sued under the 508 standard via the ADA…so we aren’t completely safe from the captioning in advance issue either.

Here is a quote from the TAC 206.50 portion of the Texas State Law:

Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency or an exemption has been made for specific technologies pursuant to §213.17 of this title, all new or changed Web pages and Web content shall comply with the standards described in this subchapter.

Perhaps an even better piece of the Texas State law is TAC 213.15 (Accessibility Standards for State Agencies: Functional Performance Criteria) where it reads:

Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency or an exemption has been made for specific technologies pursuant to §213.17 of this chapter, all electronic and information resources developed, procured or changed by a state agency shall comply with the standards described in this subchapter.

There is no shadow of a doubt, all information technology MUST be accessible if you are a State of Texas Agency. Doesn’t matter if you bought it or developed it. Doesn’t matter if it is meant for the public, or just meant for your employees. Any deviation from the State of Texas Accessibility requires a compliance exception and exemption as defined by TAC 213.17. This exception must be approved by the executive director of that agency and must include:

  • a date of expiration;
  • a plan for alternate means of access for persons with disabilities;
  • justification for the exemption.

And, if laws aren’t motivational to you…if it takes a lawsuit to get your attention….well….the risk of lawsuits is very real. Target.com settled for 6 million dollars in August 2008 over an accessibility lawsuit. There is a lawsuit in the courts right now against the state of Texas and Oracle/Peoplesoft (brought by Texas State Employees). A new case just hit the books over Law School Applicants.

Staples also just reached an agreement to make their stores and web sites accessible.

I think the writing on the wall is crystal clear. Information Technology needs to be accessible for everyone. If you are not actively making your IT accessible, then I believe that you are guilty of discrimination.

1 comment

  1. I also wanted to share:

    Sec. 2054.456. ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION RESOURCES BY STATE EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES. (a) Each state agency shall, in developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information resources, ensure that state employees with disabilities have access to and the use of those resources comparable to the access and use available to state employees without disabilities, unless compliance with this section imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the agency under Section 2054.460. Subject to Section 2054.460, the agency shall take reasonable steps to ensure that a disabled employee has reasonable access to perform the employee’s duties.

    (b) This section does not require a state agency to install specific accessibility-related software or attach an assistive technology device at a workstation of a state employee.

    Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 750, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

    Sec. 2054.457. ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION RESOURCES BY OTHER INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. (a) Each state agency shall provide members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or other services from the agency access to and the use of electronic and information resources comparable to the access and use provided to members of the public without disabilities, unless compliance with this section imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the agency under Section 2054.460.

    (b) This section does not require a state agency to:

    (1) make a product owned by the agency available for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than the location where the electronic and information resources are provided to the public; or

    (2) purchase a product for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than the location where the electronic and information resources are provided to the public.

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