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Recent GSA Efforts to Support Section 508 Compliance

The following describes GSA’s efforts to help improve federal ICT accessibility since GSA’s last report to Congress.

  • In coordination with OMB and the U.S. Access Board, GSA supported agencies’ assessment preparation by hosting 13 Office Hours sessions and issuing updated FAQs to address common questions and clarifications.

Guidance and Best Practices

  • In coordination with the U.S. Access Board, and other government agency subject matter experts, GSA developed initial drafts of the ICT Baseline for Hardware and ICT Baseline for Software to address gaps in testing knowledge. These baselines establish streamlined testing requirements that enable agencies to assess the accuracy and completeness of their ICT accessibility testing processes.
  • GSA completed a comprehensive update of the Technology Accessibility Playbook, aligning it with current ICT accessibility standards, laws, and executive guidance. The update expanded practical tools, templates, best practices, and external references across 12 “plays,” strengthening usability and effectiveness and supporting more consistent, efficient operations across the federal government.

Interagency Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

  • In partnership with federal agencies and with sponsorship from the CIOC Accessibility Community of Practice (ACOP), GSA hosted the 2025 Interagency Accessibility Forum (IAAF), a governmentwide virtual event to advance digital accessibility and Section 508 implementation. The forum provided a collaborative venue for sharing strategies, tools, and best practices. GSA-led sessions highlighted FY 2025 Section 508 updates, enhancements to the Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART) and Solicitation Review Tool (SRT), guidance on accessible self-service kiosks, approaches to addressing accessibility debt through the Technology Accessibility Playbook, and emerging practices in accessible digital acquisitions.
  • GSA led recurring, governmentwide collaboration, training and knowledge sharing on ICT accessibility. These forums support consistent Section 508 implementation and facilitate information exchange across the federal enterprise:
    • Section 508 and IT Accessibility Community of Practice (SEC508ITAC CoP): Regular meetings and email listserv of over 1,100 subscribers that support collaboration and resource sharing across federal, state, and local governments, as well as with academic partners focused on improving digital accessibility.
    • Section 508 Program Manager Huddle: A bimonthly, agenda-free forum, supported by the U.S. Access Board, that enables federal Section 508 Program Managers to collaborate on building and sustaining effective Section 508 programs. Extended sessions have included a Section 508 Program Manager Certification focus group and structured feedback sessions.
    • IT Accessibility Community Meetings: Bimonthly meetings that provide guidance and practical training on Section 508 implementation for accessibility professionals, practitioners, and SEC508ITAC members. Sessions included general awareness and “how-to” training, with recent topics covering FY 2024 Section 508 Assessment Highlights (PPTX), accessibility measurement and key performance indicators (PPTX), integration of Section 508 into Authorization to Operate (ATO) process (PPTX), and automating Section 508 Workflows (PPTX).
  • GSA advanced best practices for accessible content delivery by presenting “That Doesn’t Need to Be a PDF” during the Section 508 Best Practices webinar series, in collaboration with the U.S. Access Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The session promoted an HTML-first approach that reduces authoring burden, improves accessibility, and enables high-quality print output without reliance on inaccessible PDFs.

Technical Assistance, Tools and Training

  • Section508.gov continues to serve as the primary source for federal guidance and technical assistance on Section 508 implementation, recording approximately 1.89 million total page views in 2025. In FY 2025, GSA expanded and refreshed the site, with 33 new content pages and downloadable resources and updates to more than 138 existing pages. Key enhancements include:
    • Ongoing outreach and awareness
      • Accessibility Bytes: a 14-part series of short, practical tips delivered monthly via email and blog, reaching over 1,670 subscribers.
      • Expansion of the Digital Accessibility Newsletter, distributed bimonthly to more than 1,450 subscribers with updates on content, news, and events.
      • Launch of “What’s New on Section508.gov,” a dynamic feed highlighting recently added and updated content to improve discoverability.
    • Expanded content across core implementation areas
      • Practical accessibility guidance and tools: How-to guides for color contrast, testing tools, Microsoft Word, accessible meetings, animations, and video presentations.
      • Testing and compliance resources: Articles on prototypes, pilot conformance, testing lifecycles, exceptions processes, test report elements, and accessibility tester position descriptions.
      • Training and professional development: Resources for adding Section 508 courses to LMS platforms, developing training plans, and sample user stories for accessible ICT.
      • Procurement and policy: Guidance on evaluating conformance reports, procuring conformant ICT, micro-purchase requirements, and understanding Section 508.
      • Data, metrics, and performance: Governmentwide Section 508 Assessment results, KPIs, and related datasets.
      • Community and events: Interagency Accessibility Forum (IAAF), IT Accessibility Community Meetings, and announcements.
      • Resource libraries: ACR Library and other centralized collections of accessibility materials.
  • GSA advanced the Solicitation Review Tool (SRT) by releasing functional enhancements, including a new upload feature and deeper integration with the Accessibility Requirements Tool (ART), while progressing development of AI-enabled capabilities through LLM integration and the GSA AI API. GSA also engaged key stakeholders to demonstrate how SRT improves acquisition accessibility reviews, reduces risk, and supports more consistent incorporation of Section 508 requirements across federal procurements.
  • GSA completed development of a beta version of the Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) Repository and moved it to a staging environment to support more consistent, transparent, and reusable documentation of ICT accessibility conformance. The ACR Repository will provide a centralized location for storing, validating, and sharing ACRs across agencies, helping reduce duplicative testing, improve the quality and reliability of conformance information, and strengthen acquisition and risk-management decisions related to Section 508 compliance.

Reviewed/Updated: March 2026

Section508.gov

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