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Upcoming GSA Efforts to Support Section 508 Compliance

GSA intends to continue the core efforts as noted above, but also intends to focus on the additional items below in the next year. 

  • GSA plans to create and release a new assessment submission and reporting tool to make reporting easier and more streamlined for respondent use.

  • GSA will update key performance indicators (KPIs) as described above based on stakeholder feedback and recommendations.

  • GSA and the Access Board intend to facilitate sharing of best practices among reporting entities to help ensure complete and accurate data. This will occur in assessment office hours during the reporting window but also year round and at key events such as the bimonthly Program Manager Huddle and the Interagency Accessibility Forum (IAAF).

  • GSA, the Access Board, and OMB plan to facilitate best practices to break down silos across the organization and help component offices prepare for data calls annually. This will help agencies prepare for assessment submission but also help track data across the organization and spur continued process improvement in measuring and reporting accessibility data.

  • GSA and OMB intend to engage with relevant stakeholders, including the CIO Council, to refine assessment criteria and reporting requirements.

Policy and Best Practices

  • GSA and the Access Board, along with other government stakeholders, plan to continue the ICT Testing Baseline portfolio development, creating both the Software and Hardware Baseline working groups and draft baseline documents for each ICT. This will target accessibility testing issues by creating testing standards agency test processes can be measured against in order to ensure these processes and tools are testing accurately and appropriately. 

  • GSA intends to continue to draft test cases for the ICT Testing Baseline Alignment Framework for Web, adding to the current list and aiming to complete most of the test cases necessary for a pilot.

  • GSA intends to improve guidance on how to perform a technology evaluation of ICT in order to improve testing maturity and outcomes. This will be incorporated within the Design and Develop topic area on Section508.gov and expand the current information on how users evaluate the accessibility of ICT. 

  • GSA and the Access Board plan to lead efforts on best practices for managing organizational risk related to accessibility issues. This will address the issue demonstrated by the fact that 59% of entities said they either do not prioritize risk during the technology development lifecycle or only sometimes prioritize this risk.

Strategic Engagement

  • GSA, along with its hosting partners, will conduct a hybrid in-person and virtual event for FY25 Interagency Accessibility Forum (IAAF) targeted at training foundational accessibility concepts, improving the shared accessibility knowledge across government, and providing a forum for accessibility professionals to engage with each other. The FY25 IAAF will move to May.

  • GSA plans to outline and develop supporting artifacts for an expanded, targeted effort to engage entities one-by-one and assist agencies in assessing certain business functions, develop policies and processes, or conduct one-off analyses in specific areas. The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of this effort as well as the primary business areas where GSA will assist are yet to be determined.

  • GSA will continue to regularly communicate with the digital accessibility community through the listserv, bimonthly newsletters, Accessibility Bytes, and other media opportunities. The Accessibility Bytes publication, in particular, is targeted at helping accessibility professionals instruct their fellow employees on how to reliably create accessible digital content from the start.

  • GSA intends to increase engagement with professionals in the Intelligence Community to ensure best practices are shared amongst the federal digital accessibility community.

Technical Assistance, Tools, and Training

  • GSA will regularly update and maintain the knowledge base on Section508.gov to equip agencies with the essential skills for creating and testing accessible digital content. The focus will continue to cover identified and prioritized gaps that currently exist on the site.

  • GSA plans to continue to develop and release new features and enhancements for the ART and the SRT.

  • GSA intends to refine and release the Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) Repository. In conjunction with GSA’s OpenACR effort to create and edit a machine readable ACR data schema and ACRs, GSA will create a MVP version of the repository for listing ACRs. In this new repository, vendors will be able to submit and update ACRs and acquisition professionals will be able to more easily locate and incorporate ACR information into procurement decision-making processes. 

  • GSA plans to support members of the Federal Acquisition Service to create a Digital Accessibility Marketplace for federal agencies to use for sourcing accessibility products and services.

  • GSA intends to develop and release online and instructor-led training based on stakeholder needs and determined gaps. This may also align with recommendations put forth to OMB in a report focused on a recommended Section 508 PM Certification. However, final decision on the certification, including resourcing, timeline, hosting platform or pursuit of the program in general, is yet to be determined.

  • GSA plans to develop and release role-specific online training and microlearning for the following workforce categories:

    • Leadership and Oversight

    • Section 508 Program and Policy

    • Acquisition and Procurement

    • Project Execution and Development

    • Communications and Content

Reviewed/Updated: December 2024

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