The General Services Administration has released a congressional report assessing federal agencies’ compliance with the Rehabilitation Act’s Section 508, which requires agencies to provide government employees with disabilities equal access to information and communication technology and digital services.
GSA said Thursday the FY23 Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment report shows that the federal government falls short of meeting the minimum standard to offer federal employees and members of the public with disabilities equal ICT access.
According to the study, less than 30 percent of the self-reported top 10 viewed internet and intranet pages fully comply with Section 508 standards.
The report was based on the analysis of self-reported data from 249 reporting entities associated with activities and information from June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023.
The assessment offers recommendations to improve Section 508 compliance and ICT accessibility, including strengthening leadership accountability, improving agency oversight of Section 508 compliance, creating a shared service model for Section 508 implementation and updating Section 508.
The report also recommends that agencies enhance conformance validation and testing, require mandatory Section 508 training for specific roles and responsibilities and use the Solicitation Review Tool and the Acquisition Requirements Tool to help integrate sufficient accessibility requirements in procurement and contracting documentation.
