Advancing Section 508 Compliance for Government Agencies

Section 508 compliance is well below expectations, according to the General Services Administration’s (GSA) latest report to Congress about overall federal website accessibility.

The report found that more than three quarters of the agencies that responded were at or below average in terms of compliance. In addition, less than 30 percent of top-viewed online content analyzed in the report conformed with standards.

According to this recent Fed Manager article, the GSA views this as a major issue, as one in four Americans live with a disability. It also impacts federal workers, since 17 percent of the government workforce reported having a disability in 2022.

This new report comes out after the Federal Agency Accessibility Compliance Act, which was introduced in September 2023 and aims to ensure that all federal government services, programs, and communications are fully accessible.

In December, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also released memorandum to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires agencies to offer equal access to electronic information and data for individuals with disabilities.

It’s clear that enhancing website accessibility is both a critical priority and challenge for government. Thankfully, industry partners like Makpar can help enhance Section 508 compliance efforts through advanced testing capabilities.

Our approach to Section 508 compliance testing is grounded in going beyond the minimum requirements – focusing on the highest accessibility standards for the most comprehensive testing available. This includes speech-to-text and text-to-speech offerings, and other hands-free innovations that allow any user to effectively interact with an application.

Makpar has also helped one agency to verify that any object or function in their applications can be accessed in multiple ways – other than a computer mouse – and are compatible with other accessibility tools.

In the face of the recent GSA Section 508 report, fortunately agencies have a pathway forward for best achieving Section 508 compliance in ways that best serve constituents and employees with disabilities.  

Contact us here to learn more about how Makpar can help your agency to develop a comprehensive Section 508 compliance testing strategy.