Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - Frequently Asked Questions

A.2.ii. - Should EIT be compatible with assistive technology?

Yes, as a general matter. The goal of Section 508 is that EIT be compatible with assistive technology. In some cases, the standards require that the acquired EIT be readily usable without the need for assistive devices. For example, products covered by Section 1194.25, Self Contained, Closed Products, must have the access features built into the product. These products, such as information kiosks, copiers, or other similar products that do not permit a user to install or connect assistive technology, must be designed so that an end user can operate the product, without having to modify it. Also, multimedia presentations that require captioning and descriptive video must have these features built into the product, as it is impractical to expect end users to add on their own captions or descriptions. However, for most products -- such as software, web pages, and computers -- achieving compatibility with assistive technology is the goal of the standards.