[Athen] News from the 11/8 Interagency Accessibility Forum

[Lissner, L. Scott]

that gave me the opportunity to be a virtual fly on the wall for one of sessions for their


The General Services Administration (GSA) and Office of Management and Budget hosted the Annual Interagency Accessibility Forum recently. The agenda<https://www.section508.gov/iaaf/archives/agenda-2023/> is online and while the sessions are not available there are some materials you can download that may be useful.



One item discussed to note is that by the start of 2024 The Federal OMB is expected to release expanded guidance to agencies to ensure all federal software, hardware and digital services (both public-facing and internal) meet Section 508 standards for accessibility. It is expected that the expanded digital accessibility guidance will build on their 9/22/2023 memo, “digital-first public experience”<https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/M-23-22-Delivering-a-Digital-First-Public-Experience.pdf>.



This initiative is separate from DOJ and HHS rule making, a response to data collected<https://www.itdashboard.gov/federal-website-metrics> by GSA and OMB.  However, the memo<https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/M-23-22-Delivering-a-Digital-First-Public-Experience.pdf>  and the guidance when it is released  provide some insight and context on how the pending regulations may roll out and be enforced.  Clare Martorana, Federal Chief Information Officer, emphasized the importance of building accessibility into digital services from the beginning to cultivate  a culture of inclusion and respect.  She added that

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure. So, in order to ensure we’re meeting those standards and providing equal opportunities for all users to interact with digital content in a meaningful way, we must test and measure our work.”





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