Federal Register. Information and Communication Technology ICT Standards and Guidelines. Start Preamble. Start Printed Page 5. AGENCY Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. ACTION Final rule. SUMMARY We, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Access Board or Board, are revising and updating, in a single rulemaking, our standards for electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies covered by section 5. Rehabilitation Act of 1. Section 2. 55 of the Communications Act of 1. The revisions and updates to the section 5. DATES This final rule is effective March 2. However, compliance with the section 5. January 1. 8, 2. 01. Compliance with the section 2. Federal Communications Commission. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the final rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of March 2. Start Further Info. Useful Macro InformationFor OpenOffice. orgByAndrew PitonyakThis is not the same as my book OpenOffice. org Macros Explained OOME. You can download OOME freeThis. Questions and Answers from the Community. Looking for questions to answer Try browsing to a category you like, and then click the Unanswered link upper left. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Timothy Creagan, Access Board, 1. F Street NW., Suite 1. Washington, DC 2. Telephone 2. 02 2. TTY. Or Bruce Bailey, Access Board, 1. F Street NW., Suite 1. Washington, DC 2. Telephone 2. 02 2. TTY Email addresses 5. End Further Info. End Preamble. Start Supplemental Information. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION I. Executive Summary. A. Purpose and Legal Authority. In this final rule, the Access Board is updating its existing Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards under section 5. Rehabilitation Act of 1. Standards, as well as our Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines under Section 2. Communications Act of 1. Guidelines. Given the passage of nearly two decades since their issuance, the existing 5. Standards and 2. 55 Guidelines are in need of a refresh in several important respects. This final rule is intended to, among other things, address advances in information and communication technology that have occurred since the guidelines and standards were issued in 1. Boards regulations that have been promulgated since the late 1. The Revised 5. 08 Standards and 2. Guidelines support the access needs of individuals with disabilities, while also taking into account the costs of providing accessible information and communication technology to Federal agencies, as well as manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment. The final rule also reflects a significantly revamped organizational structure relative to the existing standards and guidelines. In sum, the final rule eliminates 3. CFR part 1. 19. 3 which formerly housed the existing 2. Guidelines and substantially revises 3. CFR 1. 19. 4 by replacing the existing 5. Standards with two regulatory provisions 1. Revised 5. 08 Standards and 2. Guidelines. Appendix A provides general application and scoping for Section 5. Appendix B does likewise for Section 2. Appendix C contains seven separate chapters setting forth the functional performance criteria and technical accessibility standards that apply to both 5. ICT. These chapters are, generally speaking, broken down by functional area e. Lastly, Appendix D republishes the existing 5. Standards, which, as discussed below, may be needed to evaluate Section 5. ICT under the safe harbor provision. In this preamble, the Board refers to provisions in the Revised 5. Standards and 2. 55 Guidelines by their new section numbers under this final rule E1. E1. 03 5. 08 Chapter 1 Application and Administration E2. E2. 08 5. 08 Chapter 2 Scoping Requirements C1. C1. 03 2. 55 Chapter 1 Application and Administration C2. C2. 06 2. 55 Chapter 2 Scoping Requirements 3. Chapter 3 Functional Performance Criteria 4. Chapter 4 Hardware 5. Chapter 5 Software 6. Support Documentation and Services and 7. Chapter 7 Referenced Standards. Additionally, the term information and communication technology ICT is used widely throughout this preamble. Unless otherwise noted, it is intended to broadly encompass electronic and information technology covered by Section 5. Voice over Internet Protocol Vo. IP products, and Customer Premises Equipment CPE covered by Section 2. Examples of ICT include computers, information kiosks and transaction machines, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines, software, Web sites, and electronic documents. Legal Authority for the Revised 5. Standards. Section 5. Rehabilitation Act of 1. Section 5. 08, as amended, mandates that Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use ICT in a manner that ensures Federal employees with disabilities have comparable access to, and use of, such information and data relative to other Federal employees, unless doing so would impose an undue burden. U. S. C. 7. 94d. Section 5. Federal agencies to ensure that members of the public with disabilities have comparable access to publicly available information and services unless doing so would impose an undue burden on the agency. Id. In accordance with section 5. A, the Access Board must publish standards that define electronic and information technology along with the technical and functional performance criteria necessary for accessibility, and periodically review and amend the standards as appropriate. When the Board revises its existing 5. Standards whether to keep up with technological changes or otherwise, Section 5. Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council FAR Council and Federal agencies incorporate these revised standards into their respective acquisition regulations and procurement policies and directives. Thus, with respect to procurement related matters, the Access Boards 5. Standards are not self enforcing rather, these standards take legal effect when adopted by the FAR Council. Start Printed Page 5. Legal Authority for 2. Guidelines. Section 2. Communications Act hereafter, Section 2. U. S. C. 2. 55. Readily achievable is defined in the statute as easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. Id. In determining whether an access feature is readily achievable, the Federal Communications Commission FCC, which has exclusive implementation and enforcement authority under Section 2. Section 2. 55 tasks the Access Board, in conjunction with the FCC, with the development of guidelines for the accessibility of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, as well as their periodic review and update. The FCC, however, has exclusive authority under Section 2. Moreover, when issuing implementing regulations, the FCC is not bound to adopt the Access Boards guidelines as its own or to use them as minimum requirements. B. Summary of Key Provisions. The Revised 5. 08 Standards and 2. Guidelines replace the current product based regulatory approach with an approach based on ICT functions. The revised technical requirements, which are organized along the lines of ICT functionality, provide requirements to ensure that covered hardware, software, electronic content, and support documentation and services are accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, the revised requirements include functional performance criteria, which are outcome based provisions that apply in two limited instances When the technical requirements do not address one or more features of ICT or when evaluation of an alternative design or technology is needed under equivalent facilitation. Some of the key provisions and updates reflected in the Revised 5. Standards and 2. 55 Guidelines relative to the existing standards and guidelines include 1. New Regulatory Approach and Format. Technological advances over the past two decades have resulted in the widespread use of multifunction devices that called into question the ongoing utility of the product by product approach used in the Boards existing 5. Standards and 2. 55 Guidelines. Consequently, one of the primary purposes of the final rule is to replace the current product based approach with requirements based on functionality, and, thereby, ensure that accessibility for people with disabilities keeps pace with advances in ICT. To ensure that compliance under both laws, to the maximum extent possible, can be measured against a common set of technical requirements, the implementing regulations have been consolidated into a single part 3. CFR part 1. 19. 4. The two sections in this part  1. Appendices A D that set forth the scoping and technical requirements under Sections 5. As discussed below, this is a new organizational format for the 5.
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