adacompliancepros's blog

Who is a Section 508 consultant?

What is hardware VPAT?
 
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document that explains how information and communication technology (ICT) products and services, such as software, hardware, electronic content, and support documentation, conform to the Revised 508 Standards for IT accessibility. Hardware VPAT is a document used during Section 508 certification to document how hardware meets the Revised 508 Standards for IT accessibility.
 

Accessibility is essential because millions of individuals grapple with disabilities. Laws, like Section 508, enforce accessibility. Such laws mandate that federal agencies or any other organization that receives funding from federal agencies follow the accessibility guidelines. However, this law encompasses not just software and websites but also hardware. 

What is accessibility hardware?
Within the context of accessibility testing, hardware includes any part of a product that can be physically touched, moved around in a room, held, or picked up. Hardware information and communication technology (ICT), or accessibility hardware, usually refers to any physical parts that comprise the device. (Here the term “device” includes a computer, printer, virtual reality headset, display, etc.)

What is 508 certification?
 
508 certification is a term used in reference to the assessment by a Section 508 compliance consultant of how an information and communication technology (ICT) product or service is based on the accessibility hardware standards. It involves auditing and documenting how the various aspects of an ICT product or service conform to Section 508 compliance requirements.
 

What is Section 508 compliance?
 
Section 508 compliance is the legal requirement that federal agencies and federally funded organizations ensure that the information and communication technology (ICT) they create, acquire, maintain, or use allows people with disabilities to access information and data.
 
Section 508 compliance versus ADA compliance
 

What is a 508 compliance checker?

What is 508 compliance?

508 compliance, which is the short form for Section 508 compliance, is a term used in reference to conformance with the requirement by Section 508 for digital products and services provided by or offered to federal organizations to be accessible for people with disabilities. It is frequently used to help provide guidelines to entities that both want and need their digital products and services to be accessible.

What is Section 508 accessibility?
Section 508 accessibility is a term used in reference to the requirement under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act that all federal agencies ensure that their information and communication technology (ICT) is accessible to people with disabilities, unless certain exceptions apply.
 
If you are a federal agency, an organization that gets federal funding, or a service provider to federal or federally funded organizations, you need to comply with Section 508 compliance requirements.
 

What is 508 testing?
If you are part of the federal ecosystem of organizations or agencies, or you are doing business with one or more of these organizations, then your organization or business is required to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This compliance entails 508 testing of all information and communication technology (ICT) products or services that you create, procure, maintain, or use. But what is this testing, and how does it look in practice?