Glossary

Standards

21^st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA)

Enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the CVAA adds on to previously enacted laws that aimed to make television and telephone services accessible to individuals with disabilities. The CVAA provides protections so the disabled individuals can better access broadband, digital, and mobile innovations.

21^st_­ Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA)

The 21^st Century IDEA Act requires that public service agencies report their state of Section 508 compliance to Congress by December 20, 2019. While Section 508 was recently refreshed and the requirements have been around for a couple of decades, this brings a renewed focus on Section 508, requiring CIO's of agencies to submit a report of the baseline status to Congress, with annual updates on the progress.

 Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)

Originally enacted in 1986, ACAA was amended in 2013 by the Department of Transportation. The amendment made it mandatory for air carriers to make their websites, that market air transportation, accessible to individuals with disabilities. The relevant standard that air carries must conform to is WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The purpose of the ADA is to ensure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

The Department of Justice has made public statements articulating that under title III of the ADA public websites are public accommodations and as such need to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in lawsuits against commercial websites brought forth under title III of the ADA. Perhaps the most famous being Domino’s Pizza v. Guillermo Robles.

Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Under Section 255 of the Communications Act telecommunications equipment manufacturers and service providers are required to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities, if such access is readily achievable.

Where access is not readily achievable, manufacturers and service providers must make their devices and services compatible with peripheral devices and specialized customer premises equipment that are commonly used by people with disabilities.

Section 504 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973

 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. The nondiscrimination requirements of the law apply to employers and organizations that receive financial assistance from any Federal department or agency.

Those who fall under the jurisdiction of Section 504 must provide appropriate aids, when necessary, to ensure equal opportunity. Such examples include braille, captioning of videos, etc.

 Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Originally enacted in 1973, Section 508 was “refreshed” in 2017 to cover a wider range of information and communication technology (ICT).

Section 508 applies to all ICT developed, maintained, procured, or used by federal agencies.

The 2017 “refresh” aimed to ensure consistency in accessibility across the spectrum of ICT. Other goals included:

• enhancing accessibility to ICT for people with disabilities;
• making the requirements easier to understand and follow;
• updating the requirements so that they stay abreast of the ever-changing nature of the technologies covered; and
• harmonizing the requirements with other standards in the U.S. and abroad.

 Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)

 Section 1557 is the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It prohibits discrimination ,in certain health programs or activities, based on various things, such as race, but also based on disability.

 Section 1557 extends nondiscrimination protections to individuals participating in:

• Any health program or activity any part of which received funding from Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Any health program or activity that HHS itself administers
• Health Insurance Marketplaces and all plans offered by issuers that participate in those Marketplaces.