Government-wide Section 508 Assessment

Assessment Requirement

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 794d, requires Federal departments and agencies, and the United States Postal Service, (hereinafter, “agencies”) to develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communications technology (ICT) that is accessible to people with disabilities and to give employees and members of the public with disabilities access to information comparable to the access available to others.¹

Agencies subject to Section 508 are required to report on the implementation of Section 508 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA). This information assists OMB, GSA, the U.S. Access Board (USAB), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in fulfilling statutory reporting requirements to evaluate agency implementation progress.² GSA and DOJ will use this information to issue separate annual and biennial reports to Congress including a public data file that contains all agency responses.

Agency responses should be completed and submitted by the agency’s Section 508 Program Manager or designee. Agency responses are due on or before August 11, 2023.

If an agency is unable to provide the requested information because it is currently unavailable, the agency should select “Unknown” or “N/A”. Agencies will have opportunities to collect any unavailable information during future reporting periods of the annual assessment.

Agencies that fail to complete the assessment by the deadline will be listed as non-responsive. OMB or GSA may follow up with agencies to obtain additional information or documentation that supports agencies’ answers to the questions in this assessment.

Agencies should use this assessment to help identify barriers to ensuring that employees and members of the public with disabilities have full equity as more government interactions move online. OMB may use this information to inform performance management discussions with agencies or assess or develop guidance.

Instructions for Reporting

Agency Section 508 Program Managers should serve as the primary point of contact for the Section 508 Assessment. If there is no Section 508 Program Manager currently assigned, the agency should designate an individual to be the point of contact (POC).

Chief Information Officers (CIO) or equivalent, of agencies required to submit an assessment, will receive information from OMB including instructions the POC must use to register with GSA in order to receive access to the online assessment reporting tool.

Agencies will have until 11:59 PM Eastern Time, August 11, 2023, to complete the Section 508 Assessment. All responses to the Section 508 Assessment must be submitted electronically via the online submission tool (the submitting agency will receive a copy of the submission for its records). Once reporting closes on August 11, 2023, no further information can be entered into the reporting tool. Agencies that fail to provide a response will be noted in subsequent reporting to Congress.

Note: If your agency needs to change or update the contact information associated with the account, please submit those changes to Section.508@gsa.gov. Change request emails should contain the new individual’s name, title, phone, and email address, and must be submitted by the Section 508 Program Manager or the highest individual in the agency that is responsible for agency or department-wide implementation of Section 508. Section 508 Program Manager (or designee) contact information will be made publicly available on the Section 508 website.

How to Submit Your Assessment Report

GSA will email reporting instructions to agencies’ designated individuals with a link to the online submission tool. Agencies will be able to enter information electronically beginning no later than June 1, 2023 with a final due date of August 11, 2023.

Assessment Reporting Periods

This assessment relates to information and activities that occurred between the time period of June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023.

Reporting of Agency Components

Agency components (e.g., bureaus, sub-agencies, or major organizational divisions as determined by the agency) must be reported independently of their “parent” agency. “Parent” agencies must limit reporting to that of the parent agency and not include reporting from component agencies.

Data submitted from component agencies will be shared with their parent agency.

Key Dates

Table listing of five key dates related to the reporting required under Section 752 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

Activity	Date/Time Frame
Instructions and Assessment Criteria released	April 7, 2023
Designation of Assessment POC	April 7, 2023 - May 1, 2023
Reporting submission window	June 1, 2023- August 11, 2023
Submission Deadline	August 11, 2023
Assessment Report and Recommendations Submitted to Congress	No later than December 29, 2023

Contact Information

For questions about the Government-wide Section 508 Assessment, please email the GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program at Section.508@gsa.gov.

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Reviewed/Updated: April 2023