WEB-ACCESSIBILITY DEADLINE LOOMS FOR FEDS--SCHOOLS NEXT? An amendment to the Rehabilitation Act, which requires federal agencies to make their technology accessible to the disabled, will take effect June 21. Association for the Blind technology consultant Ross Doerr said the law is a likely precursor to similar regulations on the state level that will affect school districts. Under the mandate, new federal technology acquisitions and current Web sites must be fully accessible to the hearing or sight impaired. For example, images must be accompanied with text that can be translated by a text-reader, and multimedia content must be augmented with synchronized audio. Many federal agencies have bought software to help them automate this upgrade process. Doerr suggested that educators might want to contact their state education departments to get a head start on incorporating accessibility issues into their curricula (eSchool News Online, 5 June 2001) Reading this item, does that means that colleges/universities are not under Section 508 regardless of whether they are the recipients of federal financial assistance? Mike Yared _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com