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Section 508 Training

Overview of Disabilities, Accessibility, and Section 508

Reducing EIT Barriers

To minimize—and eventually eliminate—frustrations like those just presented, a series of legislation was passed. One of these, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, was amended in 1998 to provide a way to better track and enforce a section requiring federal agencies to develop, procure, maintain, and use “electronic and information technology” (EIT) that can be accessed by people with disabilities as easily as by people without disabilities. EIT includes all technological methods used to gather, manage, store, or communicate information (Read the full definition here). This includes:

• Software applications and operating systems
• Web based intranet and Internet information and applications
• Telecommunications products (phone systems)
• Video and multimedia products (webcasts)
• Office equipment (copiers)
• Desktop and portable computers

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