3 Standards

A “standard” specifies the minimum accessibility features. I assume the audience of this module are web developers/designers. As such, the most important standard is section 508 of the ADA, subpart B, section 1194.22.

This section is already briefly mentioned in module 0075. Each clause of this section specifies a requirement. A requirement is a condition that describes an aspect of a web page that is either true (compliant) or false (non-compliant). If a web page satisfies all the requirements listed in section 1194.22, then it has the minimum compliance.

For the original text of section 1194.22, you can find it at http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web.

This standard is relatively short compared to the guideline that will be mentioned in the next section. This is because a standard, in this context, is only used to determine whether a web page is compliant or not, from the legal perspective.

A standard, such as section 508 (part B, subsection 1194.22), is also useful for validators and assistive products. A validator can be written to check compliance of each clause. At the same time, an assistive product can make assumptions about compliant content, and enhance accessibility accordingly.