Investigation of Best Practices for Maintaining Section 508 Compliance in U.S. Federal Web Sites

The purpose of this paper is to discuss best practices in web site compliance with Section 508 among Federal agencies. Individuals involved with 508 compliance at three different federal agencies were interviewed, to determine how their agencies meet 508 compliance requirements. The discussion includes specific evaluation methods used, such as how users with disabilities are involved, how often they perform usability testing, and what software tools are used on an ongoing basis for evaluation. It also examines the policies in place, such as the possibility of losing a content management system account for repeatedly posting non-compliant web content. We also compare the best practices in accessibility compliance from U.S. Federal agencies to approaches taken in other countries, such as Sweden and the United Kingdom.