In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. ‘ 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others.

Subpart B, relating to Technical Standards, provides both technical specifications and performance-based requirements, which focus on the functional capabilities of covered technologies. Certain provisions are designed to ensure compatibility with adaptive equipment people with disabilities commonly use for information and communication access, such as screen readers, Braille displays, and TTYs.

Both Subpart B 1194.21—Software applications and operating systems and Subpart B 1194.22—Web-based intranet and internet information and applications are important to understanding the compliance requirements of Section 508 compatible files.

For those who would like to read the standards in detail, all of the standards can be found here.