On August 7, 1998 the Office of the President signed into law the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 that covers access to federally funded programs and services. The law strengthens section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and requires 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. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities to the extent it does not pose an “undue burden.” Section 508 speaks to various means for disseminating information, including computers, software, and electronic office equipment. It applies to, but is not solely focused on, Federal pages on the Internet or the World Wide Web.

 

PerformTech has been ahead of the curve in the movement toward truly accessible media and certification via assistive technologies. While many companies will meet the letter of the accessibility law, they do not certify the accessibility of their work through testing. The PerformTech Quality Assurance Team developed its own testing methodology in 2002 in the absence of documented Federal certification guidelines and updates those methodologies as technologies and practices evolve. Many of our Federal clients have since gone on to include PerformTech’s certification guidelines as part of their internal certification documentation as their internal 508 standards bodies have developed.

 

Meeting Section 508 compliance is so much more than simply understanding the guidelines set forth by the United States Access Board. The standards themselves are relatively easy to understand and are only comprised of sixteen guidelines that outline the types of data and conditions that require alternative presentation methods or accommodations. However the guidelines do not provide any standards for certification or acceptance. PerformTech will work with your organization to examine your training needs and determine the optimal delivery method for every learner in your organization without sacrificing educational effectiveness for anyone.

 

The PerformTech team has experience in the creation of accessible media in the most complex of environments and conditions including:

 

Compliant Flash Alternative Pathing Hidden Alternative Content

Captioned Video Captioned Audio Assistive Technology-Aware Coding

PDF Tagging Dynamically Loaded iFrames

 

All of our courseware is then rigorously tested to ensure the training meets or exceeds your expectations.