JSI is committed to making information and communication technology (ICT) accessible to all users, including people with disabilities, as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220). This requirement applies not only to federal agencies but also to partners that develop, procure, and maintain ICT on behalf of the federal government.
Under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the following types of ICT must be accessible to individuals with disabilities:
- Electronic documents: Documents such as PDFs, Word, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations that are distributed electronically. This involves providing alternative text for images, using proper headings and formatting, ensuring proper color contrast, and making content accessible for screen readers and assistive technologies.
- Multimedia content: Any audio or video content that is presented electronically, such as training videos, webinars, and multimedia presentations. This includes providing captions or transcripts for videos and ensuring that audio content is available in alternative formats, such as text-based transcripts and audio descriptions.
- Websites and web applications: All public-facing websites and web applications, as well as any internal websites used for communication or sharing information. This includes ensuring that individuals with disabilities can navigate, interact with, and access content on these platforms.
- Software and applications: Any software or applications developed or procured by federal agencies should be accessible to individuals with disabilities. This includes ensuring that the interface, functionality, and documentation are accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Our staff are trained on digital accessibility, both from the standpoints of the legal requirement and the ethical imperative, as accessibility is at the heart of diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion. To help projects ensure compliance, we have a roster of internal staff and external vendors with advanced training to ensure documents, multimedia content, websites, and software are developed and/or remediated to conform with current Section 508 refresh standards (including all rules, regulations, and requirements for electronic document accessibility) and current WCAG 2.1-level AA criterion and conformance requirements for digital documents.
The JSI Accessibility Team selects and ensures that our preferred vendors are highly qualified and that they provide documentation of compliance for each remediated deliverable.
For more information, email: accessibilityteam@www.jsi.org.