The Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA) standards were published in 2008, and the Act requires that the State review the standards at least once every three years to determine whether updates are needed to keep up with changes in technology or related policies.
The State completed its first review of the standards in 2011, concluding that the IITAA Standards should be "harmonized" (aligned) with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and the proposed revisions to Federal Section 508 Standards, as soon as those revisions were complete. The full recommendation is available at IITAA Standards Update Recommendation (2011).
In 2014, the revisions to the Federal Section 508 Standards were still not complete, and the IITAA Standards Update Workgroup opted to continue with its 2011 recommendation to harmonize with the revised Section 508 Standards as soon as they were complete.
On January 9, 2017, the U.S. Access Board released the final rule updating the Section 508 Standards and harmonizing them with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, with an effective date of January 18, 2018. In accordance with the IITAA Standards Update Workgroup recommendation, the State immediately began the process of updating the IITAA Standards to match.
On July 18, 2017, the IITAA Standards Update Workgroup completed and published updated standards that harmonized Illinois' requirements with the revised Federal Section 508 Standards and the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Following the 2011 recommendation, the Workgroup also developed a set of "Techniques" to provide easy-to-understand instructions on how to meet IITAA Standards. The updated IITAA Standards and Techniques are available at:
In accordance with the Act, and in coordination with the revised Section 508 Standards, the updated IITAA Standards apply to information technology developed, procured, or substantially modified by the State effective January 18, 2018.
The State held an IITAA Standards Review Teleconference on Thursday, November 19, 2020, and the workgroup recommended keeping the IITAA 2.0 Standards aligned with Section 508 and WCAG 2.0, while encouraging compliance with WCAG 2.1 when possible.
