Accessibility FAQs
Answers to frequently asked questions
What is accessibility?
Accessibility is the degree to which something is accessible or usable by people with disabilities. For example, buildings with wheelchair ramps meet accessibility requirements for people who are mobility impaired. Accessibility is a standard term when referring to products, services, and facilities in relation to people with disabilities. For information technology, accessibility means enabling hardware, software, and services to be used by people with disabilities, either directly or in combination with assistive technology products.
What is the Cisco Accessibility Initiative?
The Cisco Accessibility Initiative identifies global requirements for accessibility and usability and establishes strategies and processes to integrate accessibility throughout Cisco operations. The initiative's objective is to develop and implement the necessary processes within Cisco to help ensure that Cisco products, architectures, Websites, and documentation are accessible to people with disabilities.
What is assistive technology?
Assistive technology is specialized hardware or software that helps increase, maintain, or assist the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. It can be any device or technique that helps remove or reduce barriers to computing technology and information and enhances people's everyday activities. An example is a screen reader, which uses a text-to-speech synthesizer to translate what is displayed on a screen into audible text.
What is Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act?
Section 508 is a part of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requiring that electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the federal government be accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 was added to the Rehabilitation Act in 1986, and further amendments in 1998 significantly expanded and strengthened its technology access requirements. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 includes the Rehabilitation Act amendments of 1998.
To whom does Section 508 apply?
Section 508 applies to federal departments and agencies. It requires that when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they must ensure that it is accessible to people with disabilities unless doing so would pose an undue burden. Accessibility for federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must be comparable to the access and use available to nondisabled people.
What is a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)?
The Information Technology Industry (ITI) Council partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to create a tool to help federal contracting and procurement officials fulfill the new market research requirements contained in the Section 508 implementing regulations. The result was the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT, which contains a list of requirements needed for a product to conform to Section 508.
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