From: Sect508WG [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 12:23 PM 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
Subj: [SECT508WG] Advisory Committee Presents Report on Updated 508 
Standards 

From: http://www.access-board.gov/news/teitac-report.htm 

On April 3, the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information 
Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) presented its report 
<http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/refresh/report/> to the Access Board 
on updating accessibility criteria for information and communication 
technologies.  The committee's report recommends revisions to the 
Board's standards for electronic and information technology covered by 
section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.  It also addresses updates to 
guidelines for telecommunications products issued by the Board under 
section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. 

"We firmly believe that the recommendations of this report will lead to 
new versions of the standards and guidelines that comprehensively cover 
accessibility in a dynamic and innovative marketplace," stated Mike 
Paciello of the Paciello Group who co-chaired the committee.  Co-chair 
Jim Tobias of Inclusive Technologies concurred, noting that "this 
committee, through the incredible range of expertise and talent it 
enlisted, indeed rose to the challenge and was not shy in confronting a 
host of complex issues before it." 

The committee's report details recommended changes to both the substance 
and the structure of the standards and guidelines. The recommendations, 
adopted by consensus under a process common to Federal advisory 
committees, specify updates that are responsive to market trends and 
technological innovations that continuously reshape the range of 
products covered.  These include technologies used for communication, 
computing, storage, duplication, and production, among others.  Access 
is addressed for all types of disabilities, including those that are 
sensory, physical, speech-related, or cognitive in nature. 

Organized by the Board in July 2006, the committee met regularly over 
the course of its charter and held numerous teleconferences in between 
meetings. The committee's 41 members comprised a broad cross-section of 
stakeholders, including representatives from industry, disability 
groups, standard-setting bodies in the U.S. and abroad, and government 
agencies, among others.  In their deliberations, committee members 
addressed a range of issues, including new or convergent technologies, 
market forces, and international harmonization. Recognizing the 
importance of standardization across markets worldwide, the committee 
coordinated its work with other standard-setting bodies in the U.S. and 
abroad. Representatives on the committee from the World Wide Web 
Consortium, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and Japan greatly 
facilitated this effort. 

The committee sought to balance the need for detailed criteria with an 
approach that accommodates the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the 
technologies covered.  Many people, from product designers and engineers 
to procurers and end users, have called for clear delineation of what 
makes a product accessible for compliance purposes.  However, the 
committee determined that product-specific criteria will not keep pace 
with innovative trends and market forces which enhance the capabilities 
of products and blur their categorization. Convergent technologies, for 
example, support the growing demand for all-in-one products, such as 
mobile devices that offer voice and text communication, web browsing, 
and media players. 

The committee's report puts forth a revised set of performance criteria 
that describe access capabilities for products generally.  The committee 
organized these provisions to serve as a framework for supplementary 
technical specifications that have been updated to address hardware, 
user interfaces and electronic content, audio-visual players, displays, 
and content, real-time voice communication, and authoring tools.  Unlike 
the current section 508 standards, these provisions are organized by the 
features or capabilities of a product, instead of discreet product 
types.  The recommendations contain advisory and background information 
on the performance and technical provisions, including references to 
related standards, and update defined terms and provisions covering 
documentation, support, and maintenance.  The report also advises the 
Board on considerations for future updates, supplementary guidance 
materials and tools, compliance testing, and further research. 

The Board will propose updates to the section 508 standards and 
telecommunications guidelines based on its review of the committee's 
report.  The Board's proposal will be made available for public comment. 
Additional information is available on the Board's Section 508 Update 
webpage <http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/update-index.htm> and the 
committee's website <http://teitac.org>.  For further information, 
contact Tim Creagan at:  [log in to unmask], (202)272-0016 (v), or 
(202)272-0082 (TTY).