[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30227-30228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12642]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2011-0041]
On behalf of the Accessibility Committee of the Federal Chief
Information Officers Council; Listening Session Regarding Improving the
Accessibility of Government Information
AGENCY: Federal Chief Information Officers Council, Social Security
Administration.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces a listening session that the CIO Council
is conducting in response to a memo dated July 19, 2010 from the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) on ``Improving the Accessibility of
Government Information''. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29
U.S.C. 794d) requires Federal agencies to buy and use electronic and
information technology (EIT) that is accessible. The July memo directs
agencies to take stronger steps toward improving the acquisition and
implementation of accessible technology. In order to better understand
the needs of diverse communities and provide better solutions, the
Federal Chief Information Officers Council (CIOC), in collaboration
with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, the GSA Office of
Governmentwide Policy and the U.S. Access Board, has held several in a
series of listening sessions to engage citizens and employees in
expressing concerns and proposing ideas. The next listening session
will be at Stanford University 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 and
will include time for generating a dialogue with technology companies.
It will also include time for general comments from the public.
Representatives from technology companies, persons with disabilities,
their advocates, and government employees are invited to participate.
DATES: Listening Session: Friday, June 17, 2011, from 1:30 p.m. to 5
p.m. Pacific Time (PT).
Persons wishing to speak at the listening session can pre-register
by contacting Emily Koo at (410) 965-4472 or
[email protected]. Pre-registrants will have priority to
speak during the session. Registration will also be available in person
at Stanford University on the afternoon of the listening session.
ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: Hewlett Teaching Center, room Hewlett 200,
370 Serra Mall, Stanford CA 94305.
Accommodations: The listening session will have sign language
interpreters; real time captioning services, assistive listening
devices and microphones. Materials will be available in Braille, large
print and electronic formats. The meeting location is wheelchair
accessible. Anyone needing other accommodations should include a
specific request when registering at least three (3) days in advance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: mailto: Emily Koo at (410) 965-4472 or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 to require Federal agencies to make their EIT accessible to
people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an
ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508
was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, open new
opportunities for people with disabilities, and encourage development
of technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to
all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use
electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C.
794d), agencies must give employees with disabilities and members of
the public with disabilities access to information that is comparable
to access available to others without disabilities.
Effective implementation of Section 508 is an essential element of
President Obama's principles of open government, requiring that all
government and data be accessible to all citizens. In order for the
goal of open government to be meaningful for persons with disabilities,
technology must also be accessible, including digital content. In July
2010, the OMB took steps to assure that the Federal government's
progress in implementing Section 508 is stronger and achieves results
more quickly.
Section 508 requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to
provide technical assistance to agencies on Section 508 implementation.
GSA has created a number of tools, available at http://www.Section508.gov, to help agencies develop accessible requirements,
test the acceptance
[[Page 30228]]
process, and share lessons learned and best practices. For example:
The BuyAccessible Wizard, http://www.buyaccessible.gov,
helps build compliant requirements and solicitations;
The Quick Links site, https://app.buyaccessible.gov/baw/KwikLinksMain.jsp, provides pre-packaged Section 508 solicitation
documents;
The BuyAccessible Products and Services Directory, https://app.buyaccessible.gov/DataCenter/ provides a registry of companies and
accessibility information about their offerings; and
The Accessibility Forum 2.0 blog http://buyaccessible.net/blog/ provides a venue where stakeholders may share ideas and success
stories, or engage in conversations on improving accessibility.
The OMB has directed that several actions be taken to improve
Section 508 performance:
By Mid-January 2011, OMB required the GSA Office of
Government-wide Policy (OGP) to provide updated guidance on making
government EIT accessible. This guidance built upon existing resources
to address challenges, increase oversight, and reduce costs associated
with acquiring and managing EIT solutions that are not accessible.
By Mid-January 2011, OMB required the GSA OGP to update
its general Section 508 training to offer refreshed continuous learning
modules that can be used by contracting officers, program/project
managers (especially those managing EIT programs), and contracting
officer technical representatives (COTRs) as they fulfill their Federal
Acquisition Certification requirements.
In March 2011, the GSA OGP and the Department of Justice
(DOJ) issued a survey to allow agencies to assess their implementation
of Section 508, including accessibility of websites and other
technology used by the agencies. DOJ will use this information in
preparing its next assessment of agency compliance as required by the
Rehabilitation Act. The CIOC Accessibility Committee will also use this
information to identify best practices and lessons learned.
In the spring of 2011, the DOJ will issue a progress
report on Federal agency compliance with Section 508, the first since
2004. Going forward, DOJ will meet its obligation to issue a report
biennially.
Beginning in FY 2011, the GSA OGP began providing OMB a
quarterly summary report containing results of Section 508 reviews of a
sample of solicitations posted on FedBizOpps.gov. GSA will provide the
agencies a summary of the sampling results to facilitate sharing of
best practices and successes, and to address common challenges.
This listening session will focus on what other steps the Federal
government can take to increase the accessibility and usability of
government information and data for persons with disabilities.
Specific input from private industry is sought for the following
questions:
How can the Federal government attract wider support from
the greater information technology (IT) community in accessibility and
assistive technology (AT)?
What is private industry doing to implement IT
accessibility that the Federal government should follow?
From the perspective of vendors, how can implementation of
Section 508 be improved?
What could the Federal government ask for that would allow
vendors to better show that their products meet accessibility needs?
What support do newly emerging technology companies need
to build in accessibility in the product and service offerings?
General input is sought on the following questions:
What can the Federal government do to use technology
better or in new ways?
What can the Federal government do to make technology more
accessible?
What emerging technologies does the Federal government use
that you cannot?
What technologies should the Federal government use that
would enhance your interactions with the Federal government?
What are state and local governments doing to implement
information technology IT accessibility that the Federal government
should follow?
What is academia doing to implement IT accessibility that
the Federal government should follow?
What can the Federal government do to influence technology
accessibility?
What can the Federal government do to support the
availability of effective Communities of Practice on IT accessibility?
Do you believe the IT industry would benefit from a
professional certification or credential that denotes a company's
expertise in accessibility? How could that be implemented and managed,
and should the government play a role in making that happen?
Feedback from the listening session will be used by, and shared
across, agencies to improve accessibility and usability.
Karen Palm,
Associate Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-12642 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
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