WCAG and Section 508: PDF Requirements

PDF/UA clarifies and simplifies the PDF-specific technical requirements to meet WCAG 2.0.

WCAG 2.0 is regarded as the primary standard for web accessibility by national governments around the world, and is referenced in the U.S. Access Board's new rules that updates accessibility requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) in the federal sector covered by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The six-year process of updating these requirements constitutes the first refresh since Section 508 was created in 1998. The rule is slated to go into effect in March, 2018, and references WCAG 2.0 and PDF/UA as the standard for compliant PDFs.

Creating PDFs that meet the WCAG 2.0 success criteria requires specific PDF authoring and remediation techniques. WCAG 2.0 was developed as a technology-independent standard and provides individual (normative) success criteria for accessibility which are general enough to apply across technologies, including a growing set of techniques for HTML, CSS, Scripting, PDF, Flash, and more. The Access Board's update states that all electronic documents must "conform to all Level A and AA Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0 or ISO 14289-1 (PDF/UA-1)." This proposal for accessible electronic support documentation is derived from the existing guidelines, but would newly require PDFs to comply with PDF/UA.

WCAG  does not presently represent a complete set which encompass all technical requirements for accessibility in all PDF documents. This is where PDF/UA provides help. PDF/UA provides normative technical specifications for the use of the PDF format, defining proper structure and syntax to enable reliable access. This includes identification of necessary tagging structures, how to specify alternative text for images, how to ensure correct Unicode mappings for character glyphs, and many other file, page and object-level specifications, as well as how Reader applications and assistive technologies can fully process PDF/UA conforming files to maximize accessibility.

PDF/UA defines the technical specifications to enable PDF documents to meet WCAG 2.0, but WCAG 2.0 has additional requirements which require an author’s attention. The areas where WCAG 2.0 has additional requirements include time-based media (guideline 1.2), scripting and actions (e.g. success criteria 3.2.1 and 3.2.2), and certain types of content (e.g. success criteria 2.4.4). For these and other additional requirements, the W3C’s technique documents (both general and PDF-specific techniques) provide guidance for authors interested in complying with WCAG 2.0.

WCAG 2.0 summarizes web accessibility using four broad design principles:

1. Content must be perceivable.
2. Interface elements in the content must be operable.
3. Content and controls must be understandable.
4. Content must be robust enough to work with current and future technologies.

These concepts are refined and delineated in the PDF/UA specifications; please refer to this article on PDF/UA for more information: http://508compliantdocumentconversion.com/pdfua-and-section-508/

AIIM, the governing body for ISO standards, published a document that shows how to achieve WCAG 2.0 through the use of the PDF/UA standard. It can be found here: http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-Publications/standards/committees/PDFUA/WCAG20-Mapping

What You Need To Know About Accessible Links

Below is a link to some great,  common sense accessibility advice, fifteen rules to code by- thanks to Gian Wild.  Gian rightly focuses on practical accessibility  rather than compliance with mostly outdated regulations (like the 18 year-old Section 508!) A few excerpts:

Rule 6: Restrict the number of text links on a page

This is important because users see links as a form of navigation: they know they are not on the right page so they are looking for links that will take them to where they want to go.

If there are a lot of links on a page, it makes it that much harder to navigate a site.

And of course, screen reader users can pull out all the links in a page, so if there are hundreds of links then reading through them all is a nightmare.

Ok, so how many links are too many? That’s the ‘How long is a piece of string’ question, and depends on the type of site that you have.

Just bear in mind the users that are navigating from link to link when you’re constructing your pages.

Rule 11: The case for underlining links

People expect links to be underlined. When they see underlined text they expect it to be a link (which is why you should never underline text in the online world unless you are representing a link).

WCAG2 does recommend that you underline your inline text links, but also allows developers to meet the accessibility criterion if they use a contrast ratio of 3:1 with surrounding text and providing additional visual cues on focus for links or controls where color alone is used to identify them.

This requires that your text links contrast sufficiently with surrounding text (the W3C has a list of link colors that contrast appropriately with black text and a white background) and there is an additional visual cue when the link receives mouse or keyboard focus.

This visual cue can be an underline (go on, make those links underlined!), bold, italic or increase in font size or it can be the addition of a glyph or image. It can be implemented through CSS as this only needs to be a visual indicator.

But remember to add a:focus to a:hover!

The article:
https://www.sitepoint.com/15-rules-making-accessible-links/

New York City Sets the Pace For Accessibility, Requires Conformance With Section 508

New York City takes the lead in accessibility, passing a law in March of this year requiring that its government agency websites and electronic documents meet recognized standards WCAG 2.0 and Section 508.  This is hopefully the start of a trend making the Federal mandate universal, a giant step towards accessibility- state and local governments may follow NYC’s lead, requiring contractors and even public accommodations to conform in the absence of regulations from DOJ.

 New York City becomes the first major municipality in the United States to adopt legislation mandating accessibility standards for all of its government agency websites.  Serving a population of over 8 million, the New York City government includes more than 120 agencies staffed by approximately 325,000 employees.  This legislation will have an impact on City agencies, and access for persons with disabilities to those institutions.  It may also have an impact on future website regulations impacting businesses across the country.

“New York City is an amalgamation of cultures, heritages and languages,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “That is why we strive to increase inclusivity, especially when it comes to New Yorkers with disabilities. Whether it’s creating a more accessible City website, or ensuring that events hosted by City agencies have information regarding accessibility for people with disabilities, Intros. 673-A, 683-A, 881-A and 883-A strengthen our efforts to be more inclusive.”

The legislation (Intro. 683-A) was among three disability access bills that Mayor Bill De Blasio signed into law on the same day.  In addition to mandating website protocols, the legislation requires that each City agency designate a “disability service facilitator,” and publicize, among other things, the availability of wheelchair access, communication access real-time translation, sign language interpretation, assistive listening systems, and any other accommodations to be made available for all public events.

The sweeping mandate states that agencies must adopt an "Accessible Website Protocol" within 6 months. The new City law recognizess that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA (“WCAG 2.0 AA”) is increasingly becoming the de facto standard for website accessibility, despite the continued lack of any regulations from the U.S. Department of Justice setting a legally-required standard for state and local governments under Title II of the ADA.

Under the new law, the City must establish a website protocol within 6 months that incorporates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,  WCAG 2.0 AA, or any “successor” standards.  The Section 508 standard currently applies to the federal government websites and electronic documents, and consists of a list of 16 requirements that are less rigorous than WCAG 2.0 AA.  But last year the Access Board proposed a rule that would, among other things, adopt WCAG 2.0 AA as the new website standard under Section 508.  Thus, if the City incorporates Section 508 in its website protocol, its agency websites may be subject to WCAG 2.0 Level AA once the final Section 508 regulations are issued.

“The City Council is committed to making New York a more inclusive City for all people to work and live,” City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said. “This package of legislation will increase language access across City websites and improve access to City services for all New Yorkers.”

Chris Frank, CEO of Accessibility In Mind, a dedicated Section 508 remediation service says "It's no surprise that NYC is being proactive in requiring government services and documents to be universally accessible- it benefits all citizens, not just handicapped ones. It's like the curb cuts that make sidewalks wheel chair-friendly- they are great for walkers and bikers as well. It only makes the city more attractive, as it adds value which everyone shares."

What's your standard? Accessibility In Mind has you covered for Section 508, PDF/UA, WCAG 2.0, HHS

Ensuring Indemnity With Documentation

Accessibility In Mind offers extensive accessibility reporting supporting all recognized standards, guaranteeing compliance. Whatever your specific requirements may be, AIM can remediate your documents to comply.

• Section 508: Section 508 was originally added as an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in 1986. It requires  Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. The regulations are broad in nature and are interpreted differently by different agencies. AIM can provide Section 508 specific reports certifying compliance.
• PDF/UA: PDF/UA (“Universal Accessibility”) specification, or ISO 14289, was published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in August, 2014. PDF/UA requires Tagged PDF (ISO 32000-1, 14.8), and adds a variety of qualitative requirements, especially regarding semantic correctness of the tags employed. It is the first fully accessible standard ISO has ever published. AIM can provide PDF/UA specific reports certifying compliance.
• WCAG 2.0: The current version,  was published in December 2008 and became an ISO standard, ISO/IEC 40500:2012 in October 2012.It consists of 14 guidelines which are general principles of accessible design, primarily for websites, but applicable to PDF accessibility. AIM can provide WCAG specific reports certifying compliance.
• HHS: The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) maintains a checklist defining their interpretation of Section 508, providing specific guidance on compliant PDF structure. AIM can provide HHS-specific reports certifying compliance.

Every remediated document is delivered with time-stamped Adobe Acrobat Pro 11 full accessibility reports, and NetCentric CommonLook reports are available for all accessibility standards. These reports prove due diligence in compliance with the most stringent requirements, and ensure indemnity from any legal challenges to document compliance.

Accessibility In Mind gives you one less thing to worry about- contact us for more information.

Is there any such thing as "Certification" for section 508 compliance?

Yes, Virginia, there is.

 AIM, formerly Electronic Document Compliance Services, is pleased to announce the availability of certificates of compliance for Section 508, PDF/UA, HHS, and WCAG 2.0. AIM can evaluate and certify compliance of any PDF, providing time-stamped accessibility reports, your insurance against any and all claims of non-compliance, guaranteed.

Contact us for a no-obligation evaluation of your documents.