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The following is an expanded version of the summary table:
Information Technology Access Laws And Policies:
A Summary of Critical Features
Introduction:
All states and territories have a Section 508 assurance as required for receipt of Assistive Technology Act dollars. Some states have additional information technology access laws, rules, regulations and/or policies in place. The following is a preliminary summary of such laws and policies and illustrates the wide variability that is currently in place.
Definition of Accessibility:
(Section 508) Individuals with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to individuals without disabilities.
(EITAAC Report) No specific definition of accessibility recommended.
(Missouri) Compliance with nationally accepted accessibility and usability standards.
(Arkansas) Ability to receive, use, and manipulate data and operate controls included in information technology.
(Maryland) Ability through keyboard control, synthesized speech, Braille, or other methods not requiring sight, to receive, use and manipulate information, and operate controls necessary to access information technology.
(Texas) (Arkansas, in rule) Equivalent access means a substantially similar ability to communicate with or make use of the technology, either directly by features incorporated within the technology or by other reasonable means such as assistive devices or services which would constitute reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar state or federal laws.
(Minnesota) No specific definition.
(Maine) No specific definition, implied through access standards for software.
(New York, web only) Persons with disabilities have access to information - via the World Wide Web - which is equivalent to that available to persons without disabilities.
Covered Entities:
(Section 508) All federal departments and agencies.
(OSERS/NIDRR Letter) Per Assistive Technology Act funding, "states" must comply with Section 508 requirements.
(Missouri) Each department, office, board, bureau, commission, or other unit of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government, including public four-year and two-year colleges and universities.
(Arkansas) The state, any of its departments, agencies, public bodies, or other instrumentalities and any state-assisted organization, college, university, nonprofit organization, person, political subdivision, school system, other entity supported in whole or in part by state funds.
(Minnesota) State agencies, political subdivisions, and the Minnesota state colleges and universities. (The University of Minnesota is not directly covered.)
(Maryland) State - no specific definition provided.
(Texas) State agencies - no specific definition provided.
(Maine) State agencies - no specific definition provided.
(New York, web only) - State agencies.
Definition of Information Technology:
(Section 508) Access Board shall define.
(EITAAC Report) Broad definition proposed.
(Missouri) Any electronic information equipment or interconnected system that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information, including audio, graphic and text.
(Arkansas) All electronic information processing hardware and software, including but not limited to telecommunications, the transmission of information, images, pictures, voice, or data by radio, video, or other electronic or impulse means.
(Maryland) All electronic information processing hardware and software, including maintenance, telecommunications, and associated consulting services.
(Texas) "Automated information system" includes the computers on which the information system is automated; a service related to the automation of the system including computer software, or the computers; a telecommunications apparatus or device that service as a component of a voice, data, or video communication network for transmitting, switching routing multiplexing, modulating amplifying, or receiving signals on the network.
(Minnesota) No specific definition.
(Maine) Information products and services include data, voice, and video technologies.
(New York, web only) Limited to world wide web.
Access Required:
(Section 508) Provide access when developing, procuring, maintaining or using electronic and information technology.
(Missouri) Provide access when developing, procuring, maintaining or using information technology so that individuals with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to individuals without disabilities.
(Arkansas) Provide blind or visually impaired with access equivalent to the access provided individuals who are not blind or visually impaired and four specifications for contract clause.
(Minnesota and Maryland) Four specifications for contract clause.
(Texas) Provide blind or visually impaired with access equivalent to the access provided individuals who are not blind or visually impaired with specific contract clause language provided.
(Maine) Specific requirement to comply with access standards placed in all contracts for application development, software licenses or enhancements or similar services.
(New York, web only) Specific requirement to comply with the most current version of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in the design, creation and maintenance of any official State agency web site.
Access Standards:
(Section 508) Access Board shall develop standards.
(OSERS/NIDRR Letter) States shall comply with the standards to be set by the Access Board.
(Missouri) The Assistive Technology Council and Office of Information Technology shall adopt accessibility standards.
(Minnesota) The commissioner, in consultation with the office of technology, shall develop nonvisual technology access standards.
(Arkansas) Non-visual access standards shall be established by the state.
(Texas, Maryland) Standards not specifically addressed.
(Maine) Specific standards adopted for computer application program accessibility (adapted from US Department of Education.)
(New York, web only) Standards adopted are W3C, priority one, for web access.
Contracting/Procurement:
(Section 508) Access standards from Access Board to be incorporated into Federal Acquisition Regulation.
(Missouri) Establish and implement a review procedure to evaluate accessibility, provide accessibility reports to those responsible for purchasing decisions, and provide training and technical assistance to assure procurement of accessible information technology.
(Arkansas, Minnesota, Maryland, Texas, Maine) Access must be required by a clause in all contracts.
(New York, web only) Access standards applicable to contracting for web design, creation, and maintenance.
Exclusions:
(Section 508) Undue burden and national security.
(EITAAC Report) Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense including nature and cost, overall size of agency resources, type of agency operation, and impact on resources and operation.
(Missouri) Undue burden defined as significant difficulty or expense, including but not limited to difficulty or expense associated with technical feasibility.
(Arkansas - law) Three year phase in period in which exclusions of the access clause are allowed when costs exceed a set level.
(Arkansas - policy) Provisions do not prohibit the purchase or use of an information technology product that does not meet these standards provided that either: there is no available means by which the product can be made nonvisually accessible and there is no alternate product which is or can be made nonvisually accessible; or the information manipulated or presented by the product is inherently visual in nature.
(Maryland) Exclusions of the access clause are allowed when nonvisual access is not available because essential elements cannot be made non-visual or the cost of nonvisual access would increase the total by more than 5%.
(Texas) No specific exclusion, but see definition of access with reference to "reasonable accommodations."
(Maine) Waivers for non-compliance with access standards will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
(New York, web only) No exclusions provided.Enforcement Actions:
(Section 508) Administrative complaint procedures required and civil action authorized.
(OSERS/NIDRR Letter) States are not required to comply with the enforcement provisions of Section 508.
(Missouri) Administrative complaint procedures required and civil action authorized. (Arkansas) Civil action authorized.
(Texas, Minnesota, Maryland) Not addressed.
(Maine) Pilot testing of software for verification of compliance with accessibility standards.
(New York, web only) Standards shall be applied to all new web pages and existing web pages should be modified to comply within one year, 9/30/2000. All web sites shall have a contact mechanism to report access problems.