US Access Board to Release Pre-Draft of New Section 508/255 Standards

Received the following email from Tim Creagan at the US Access Board. Finally!!

“This is the latest status update for you on the progress of the refresh of the 508 standards.”

During the Access Board public meeting on Friday, July 17, 2009, the co-chairs of the ICT Ad Hoc Committee, Mr. Neil Melick and Mr. Ron Gardner, made the following motion:

“IT is moved that the Access Board publish a Notice of Availability of a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register along with a mini-preamble, and that a 90 day comment period be provided. At least one public comment period will be held during the comment period.”

The Board passed the motion unanimously.

What this means is that once the ICT Ad Hoc Committee completes the draft text and mini-preamble, to the satisfaction of the Board, a notice will appear in the Federal Register that draft text is available on the Access Board website for review and public comment.

This is a step BEFORE a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The Notice of Availability is being provided in the interest of getting material out to the public in a timely manner. The Notice of Availability allows draft text to be released. After public comments are received and reviewed, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will then be released, after preparation of a regulatory assessment, as well as a full Preamble.

It is expected that the Notice of Availability will be released sometime in the fall of 2009.”

Additional Resources on Section 508

Section 508 Conformance: A Need-to-Know Guide