Last week, the General Services Administration released what it called new guidelines for accessing government technology, and the results weren't good.
“The government has generally failed to meet minimum standards and legal obligations to ensure equal access for all members of the public and federal employees with disabilities,” the new report says.
The focus is on federal compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires government technology to be accessible to people with disabilities (nearly one in four American adults), and the maturity of government Section 508 programs.
This GSA assessment, facilitated by the Office of Management and Budget and required as an annual exercise by the 2023 Appropriations Act, uses self-report data collected between June 2022 and May 2023 from 249 respondents representing agencies and components across the government, based on 105 ratings. Standards. .
Among the most viewed intranet and Internet sites, electronic documents and videos on average are less than 30% fully compliant with Section 508 standards. Low levels of compliance indicate that accessibility policies, practices, and procedures are not working, the report says.
The report found that organizations with more mature Section 508 programs and larger numbers of employees had more available technology, although 38 components of the report said they had no Section 508 employees at all.
Overall, access to federal technology is "well below expectations, given that the federal government has had more than 20 years to implement programs capable of achieving and maintaining modern [information and communications technology] standards." The report says.
Prior to the release of the Office of Management and Budget memo late last month, agencies had not received updated guidance on Section 508 since 2013.
The lack of regular access metrics and designated compliance officers at each agency likely contributed to the current state of technology access in government, federal CIO Claire Martorana told Nextgov/FCW at the time.
As of early last year, the Justice Department had not issued a legally required biennial report on Section 508 compliance since 2012.
The report recommends that Congress focus its oversight efforts on large technology providers to determine how to improve access to commonly used software products, such as the office applications used by many government agencies.
GSA also encourages agencies to use acquisition tools to include accessibility requirements in procurement and contract documents and to develop policies regarding what happens if acquired technology is not available.
Recommendations also included increased accessibility testing, mandatory training for relevant personnel, increased agency internal oversight and management accountability regarding accessibility, and increased Section 508 program capacity.
For the FY 2024 assessment, GSA will work to obtain better, more consistent data from multiple agencies and improve standards, according to the report. Some reporting officials said they feared retaliation if they answered truthfully or were asked to change their answers to make their agencies look better, leading to data quality problems, according to the report.
“Even with the potential for hyperinflation when Section 508 is implemented, the government as a whole still has significant room for improvement,” he said.
A Democratic representative on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee told Nextgov/FCW in an email that “these findings are unacceptable” and said “the administration must meet with veterans, students, workers, seniors and others.” People are where they are. But to do this, Congress needs a budget that will make the necessary investments in federal agencies and their workforce.
