From the web page
http://fcw.com/Articles/2009/11/16/POL-accessibility.aspx?p=1

Gov 2.0: Transparency without accessibility?

Nearly 20 percent of Americans need sites such as Recovery.gov 
and
Disability.gov to improve accessibility features By Alice 
Lipowicz Nov
16, 2009 In this report

Putting Web sites to the test

When a redesigned Recovery.gov Web site was unveiled last month 
to track
the distribution of stimulus dollars, it was touted as another 
example
of the Obama administration's push for greater transparency.  But 
the
technology and design of the site left one segment of the 
population
less than satisfied.

Advocates for people with disabilities found a number of 
accessibility
flaws on the site that jumbled the spending data or otherwise put 
it
beyond the reach of people using screen readers and other 
assistive
devices.

"It is unfortunate that Recovery.gov, in its technical 
implementation,
fails to meet longstanding, widely understood accessibility
requirements," wrote Seth Grimes, an information technology 
consultant,
in a review of the revamped Web site.

The site's administrators fixed the problems within days, Grimes 
said.
But he is concerned that other defects might appear when features 
are
added or updated.

Experts have noted ongoing, widespread accessibility glitches at 
federal
Web sites such as WhiteHouse.gov, Data.gov and even 
Disability.gov.

As agencies move more services online to improve transparency and 
take
advantage of Web 2.0 features for greater interaction with the 
public,
access for people with disabilities is becoming a more prominent
concern, many experts say.  However, they add that the increased
attention has not led to dramatic improvements in accessibility.

"This administration is trying to use new technologies," said 
Sharron
Rush, executive director of Knowbility, a nonprofit accessibility
solutions group in Austin, Texas.  "In the rush to implement Web 
2.0,
accessibility tends to get pushed back on the priority list."

However, because President Barack Obama has touted transparency 
and open
government, advocates for people with disabilities are hopeful 
that
sites will improve, said Jim Thatcher, a consultant and developer 
of one
of the first screen readers.  "I care about this administration, 
and I
think their Web sites should be the best for accessibility," he 
said.

According to the Census Bureau, about 18 percent of the U.S.  
population
has some level of disability in sight, hearing, cognition, 
medical
condition or mobility, and 12 percent of the total population has 
a
severe disability.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 governs the 
accessibility
of federal Web sites, and amendments added in 1998 greatly 
strengthened
it.
Under the rules, sites must be compatible with assistive 
technologies
for people with disabilities, including screen readers that read 
words
aloud or print them in Braille.

To comply with Section 508, federal Web sites must have features 
such as
captioning for all photos and videos; specific formats for charts 
of
data; and alternative commands for Go and Search, among others.

Another update to the law is expected soon.  In September 2006, 
the U.S.
Access Board's Telecommunications and Electronic and IT Advisory
Committee began meeting to consider updates to Section 508.  The
committee issued recommendations in April 2008, and the board is
expected to release proposed new rules soon.

Focusing on compliance

Given the government's emphasis on online communications, the 
National
Federation of the Blind has made federal Web site accessibility a 
high
priority this year, said Chris Danielsen, the organization's 
director of
public relations.  In six months, the federation has filed 
administrative
complaints about inaccessible Web sites against the Social 
Security
Administration, Small Business Administration and Education 
Department
for its involvement with USALearns.org.

"We are being more aggressive," Danielsen said.  "We are focusing 
on
compliance."

The Justice Department is responsible for monitoring agencies'
compliance with Section 508, but its most recent report was 
published in
2001.  That year, it asked agencies to evaluate their 20 most 
popular Web
pages and released a summary of the results.  It states: "In 
reviewing
the data regarding specific Web pages, we found that federal 
agency Web
pages are generally accessible but still have a number of 
problems that
interfere with accessibility."

The report recommends more guidance, better communication and 
increased
coordination with small vendors to solve specific problems.

But advocates for people with disabilities say they'd like to see 
a more
recent progress report.  "It would be helpful to have updated and
accurate data on the extent of current issues," said Judy Brewer,
director of the Web Accessibility Initiative at the World Wide 
Web
Consortium, which has developed voluntary accessibility standards 
for
Web sites.

Although most experts agree that federal Web sites generally 
conform to
Section 508, they point to noticeable gaps.  Thatcher said he has
notified federal authorities about accessibility problems at
Recovery.gov, WhiteHouse.gov, Data.gov and 
MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

Some of the problems were fixed, but not all.  For example,
WhiteHouse.gov went from an average of three errors per page in 
April to
one per page in June, he said.

Beyond Section 508

Unlike their federal counterparts, state and local agencies have 
no
uniform approach for ensuring that Web sites are accessible, 
which has
made it difficult for vendors to produce standardized compliance
products, Brewer said.

"Some states use Section 508; some have a mix of standards," she 
said.
"We are very eager to see harmonization of standards so that Web
developers and tool developers have a common set of standards to 
build
to."

However, experts disagree about whether Section 508 is the 
answer.
"People say, 'Of course we can apply Section 508,' but in 
practice they
cannot do it," Thatcher said.  "People don't understand Section 
508."

Jared Smith, associate director of nonprofit accessibility 
organization
WebAIM at Utah State University, considers Section 508 to be a 
minimal
standard.  "To me, there is no excuse for not meeting it," he 
said.

He encourages developers to go beyond it and address a broader 
set of
issues, such as readability, the user experience and universal 
design.
By doing so, sites would also serve the general population 
better, he
said.

"There is a difference between compliance and accessibility," 
Smith
said.  "A Web site can be compliant but [in practice] be 
inaccessible..
Accessibility is more complex and dynamic."

Although Smith said he believes more technical rules are not the 
answer,
Brewer said they are helpful in some cases.  For example, 
regulations
that specify a technical standard for color contrast would be 
more
effective in helping people with color blindness than a general
statement, she said.
About 8 percent of the male population has some degree of color
blindness, which affects how people perceive colors and 
contrasts.

Federal Web sites saw a jump in accessibility after IT standards 
were
added to Section 508 in 2000, and experts hope to see another 
leap
forward after the law is updated with the latest recommendations 
from
the U.S.  Access Board.

Meanwhile, Rush said she and others are meeting with members of 
the
Obama administration and agency officials to move forward in 
applying
accessibility principles to Web 2.0 technologies.

"The Obama administration is saying the right things privately," 
Rush
said.
"I would like to see them take a leadership position on this and 
have
the federal government be a real exemplar of accessibility."


About the Author

Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer for Federal Computer Week.




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