Essay on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

The Rehabilitation Act and E-Learning
The Rehabilitation Act has been law since 1973. Two important sections of the Act affect agencies when they are procuring and implementing e-learning solutions for their workforce. They are sections 501 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
In 1998, Section 508 of this Act was amended to require access to electronic and information technology provided by the Federal government. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Section 508 applies to various ways of disseminating information, including computers, software, and electronic office equipment. It also applies to the Federal pages on the Internet or World Wide Web and web-based e-learning. While it complements Section 501 very well by making it easier for agencies to provide reasonable accommodations, Section 508 is very different from Section 501. Section 508 is only enforceable with respect to newly-procured (i.e. procured after June 21, 2001) electronic and information technology. Section 508 also has much more specific standards that are designed to meet the needs of a broad cross-section of users with disabilities--- it is not designed to meet the needs of users with disabilities through an ad hoc approach. Thus, an agency must consider the Section 508 standards, even if there are no employees with disabilities who can currently use that technology. In the context of e-learning and training programs, agencies must comply with the Section 508 standards for any e-learning and training programs using EIT if they are procured after June 21, 2001 (Krug, 2000).

Overview
Both e-learning and the amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act are at the beginning stages of implementation. This can make the implementation of either difficult to understand for both the program office responsible for e-learning and the contracting office................

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