For a short answer, I'll have to agree with Norman Coombs.  There is a
great deal of debate on the subject.  For a longer answer, I'll borrow
what I recently wrote on another listserv.  Apologies to those of you
that have already seen this.

This was a reply in regards to a question about an article that
recently appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education...

Concerning the application of Section 508 to higher ed IT
accessibility, I don't believe the Chronicle article is particularly
off-base in this application.  True, the statutory foundation is not
explicit, but that is often true in many areas of civil rights
enforcement.  After all, what should we conclude when we read this
statement made by the Access Board (an official government body):

"The scope of section 508 is limited to the Federal sector. It does not
apply to the private sector, nor does section 508 impose requirements
on the recipients of Federal funds. However, the Department of
Education interprets the Assistive Technology Act (AT Act), to require
States receiving assistance under the AT Act State Grant program to
comply with section 508, including the Access Board's standards. The
Department of Education, the agency responsible for administering the
AT Act, plans to issue guidance to explain specifically how the
proposed standards would apply to the States for purposes of the AT
Act. Thus, while section 508, on its face, is "limited to the Federal
sector," recipients of Federal funds under the AT Act must also comply
with section 508."  *Excerpted from:
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/overview.htm

Also consider the following statements made in the standards published
on December 21:

"Executive Order 13132: Federalism
By its terms, this rule applies to the development, procurement,
maintenance or use by Federal agencies of electronic and information
technology. As such, the Board believes that it does not have
federalism implications within the meaning of Executive Order 13132. In
the proposed rule, the Board referred to the Department of Education's
interpretation of the Assistive Technology Act (the "AT Act"), 29
U.S.C. 3001. The Board received approximately five responses from
various State organizations regarding the relationship between the AT
Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Department of
Education, the agency responsible for administering the AT Act, has
advised the Board that it plans to work with States to address the
relationship between the AT Act and section 508, and specifically how
the Board's standards would apply to the States for purposes of the AT
Act. As part of this process, the Department of Education will address
issues raised in the five responses the Board received on the
relationship between the AT Act and section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act."

*Excerpted from:
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm#Regulatory_Process_Matters


If indeed the U.S. Department of Education holds to this
interpretation, then that would imply that the Office of Civil Rights
will duly consider Section 508 complaints filed by students with
disabilities against a state college or university.  Theoretically,
other enforcement provisions, such as the right to file civil lawsuits
per Section 504, would also be available.  Obviously, institutions
would prefer not to face OCR complaints or lawsuits.  I suggest that
the proper rational course to pursue at this moment is to accept the
Access Board's statement as the current federal interpretation, and
wait until the Department of Education issues their Section 508
guidance document.

In closing, one other item.  Keep in mind that a number of states have
Accessible Information Technology laws on the books, and other states
are trying to pass them in their legislatures.  These state laws are
binding separate and apart from the Assistive Technology Act linkage.

I hope this has added to the discussion.

Steve Noble
Policy Analyst
Kentucky Assistive Technology Service Network
8412 Westport Road
Louisville, Ky 40242
Voice: (502) 327-0022
Fax: (502) 327-9974
[log in to unmask]
Board of Directors, Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (KY Unit)
Contributing Editor, Information Technology and Disabilities
Co-Listowner, AXSLIB-L

--- Prof Norm Coombs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I know some knowledgeable people saying "yes" and some saying "no".
>
> The lawyers may get rich again.
> Norman
> At 05:59 PM 2/4/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >Somewhere I think I read that 508 applies to states receiving AT Act
> monies
> >(that must be all or nearly all states). Does that mean that Web
> pages
> >supported by state governments must also be accessible by June 2001?
>   Linda
> >
> >Linda Lucas Walling
> >College of Library and Information Science
> >University of South Carolina
> >Columbia, SC 29208
> >[log in to unmask]
> >Phone: 803-777-2298
> >Web page: http://www.libsci.sc.edu/linda/walling.htm
> >