A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
New Rules Ensure
Equal Access for the Disabled
New rules published in the Federal Register on April 25 give federal employees and members of the public with disabilities unprecedented access to electronic and information technology. The new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) rules describe how the government must acquire electronic and information technology products that are accessible to people with disabilities.
"The new rules are a wonderful opportunity for the government," said Craig B. Luigart, ED's chief information officer (CIO) and representative for the CIO Council on disability and accessibility issues.
"The FAR rule provides us with the opportunity to improve the accessibility of electronic and information technology that the federal government uses," said Luigart. "Now that the rules have been signed and this is the law of the land, the federal government has a great chance to serve our workforce and the public. In addition, the United States government is the largest single consumer of electronic and information technology in the world. As a result of this rule and the purchasing power of the U.S. Government, there is no doubt that electronic and information technology manufacturers will now begin to develop software and hardware that can be accessed by the disabled," said Luigart.
The new rules state that technology purchased by the government must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under Section 508, federal agencies must ensure that federal employees and members of the public with disabilities have access to information, computers and networks that is comparable to the access enjoyed by people without disabilities, as long as doing so does not cause an undue burden to the agency. The final regulations amend the FAR and become effective on June 25.
The rule affects federal employees with disabilities as well as members of the public with disabilities who seek to use federal electronic and information technologies to access information. "This increased access will reduce barriers to employment in the federal government for individuals with disabilities and will reduce the probability that federal employees with disabilities will be under-employed," said Luigart.
"The key concept at the very heart of Section 508 and the final FAR rule is noble," said Luigart. The concept is that every person with a disability in America has an inalienable right to the information the federal government makes available either to its employees or the public. It also is important to note that making technology accessible to the disabled is not onerous if it is planned from the beginning of the project, said Luigart. "Our experience indicates that this additional cost is less than one percent of a project's budget for making electronic information technology accessible to all," he said.
