During the past 20 years, our world has become increasingly connected and we all depend on many pieces of technology to conduct day-to-day activities. A large segment of public sector business is now transacted using online access through a variety of devices and interfaces. This has improved efficiency, saved time and money for agencies and their constituents, and greatly facilitated communication and distribution of vital and timely information. Just as important as everyone being able to gain physical access to public facilities, people with disabilities or other limitations must be able to easily access online resources provided by public agencies.
The federal Rehabilitation Act was amended in 1998, adding Section 508 that incorporates sixteen rules for Web-based intranet and internet information and applications. On January 18, 2017, a final rule was issued to update accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) covered by Section 508.
In 2003, the State of California enacted Government Code Section 11135, requiring all of its agencies and departments to comply with federal Section 508. The California Department of Education (CDE) has adopted Accessibility Standards for designing and developing web sites to keep their agency in compliance. CDE’s standards can serve as best practices for local educational agencies to use for their own online assets.
Complying with Section 508 and state law is important for ensuring everyone in our communities can use the Internet resources for interacting and transacting with their local governments. From enrollments, information requests, employment opportunities, providing feedback, to critical public safety notifications, these capabilities have become indispensable. From a risk management standpoint, districts that have non-compliant web sites could potentially face civil rights actions and costly lawsuits from individuals unable to access district resources online
