IITAA Standards Update Workgroup Call - July 13

We have another teleconference of the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA) Standards Update Workgroup on Thursday, July 13 at 9:00 AM. If you are interested in participating, please sign up using the "IITAA Standards Update Workgroup Signup" at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/iitaa

If you haven't already, please take a look at the draft standards at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=96985  and "techniques" at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=97051.  After this call, we'll finish converting the remaining implementation guidelines into techniques and be ready to officially post them on July 18.

Here is a recap from our last call:

  1. We reviewed the IITAA Standards Update Draft posted at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=96985. This draft is based on the Revised Section 508 Standards and strives for maximum "harmonization". It is a verbatim copy of the Revised 508 Standards with the Federal-specific references removed or replaced with Illinois equivalents.
  2. We did not include Appendix B, which is the application and scoping for the Section 255 telecommunications accessibility guidelines. We believe the 255 guidelines are out of scope for the IITAA since they apply to telecommunications manufacturers and service providers, and the IITAA specifically only covers State agencies. This doesn't let telecommunications providers "off the hook" in any way, since the 255 standards apply to them under the FCC's authority. We also did not include Appendix D, which is the old Section 508 standards, which aren't applicable to Illinois.
  3. We noted that E205.4 & E207.2 state that electronic content and software (including web) "shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria… of WCAG 2.0", which is the key to harmonization and opens the door for us to re-work the IITAA Implementation Guidelines as "Techniques" (http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/understanding-techniques.html).
  4. We also talked about the "safe harbor" provision exempting pre-existing systems from the new standards -- If you're looking for that provision, it's not actually called "safe harbor", but you'll find it in E202.2 "Legacy ICT". (NB that it only exempts existing ICT that COMPLIES WITH AN EARLIER STANDARD - so old systems that did NOT comply with any accessibility standards are NOT exempted from being accessible.)

Next steps:

  1. We will add the definitions from the IITAA Public Act in to E103.4.
  2. We are re-working the IITAA Implementation Guidelines (https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=33547) as WCAG-style Techniques and will post a sample set early next week for review.
  3. Our next call is July 13 -- please don't wait until then to share your comments and questions about the draft standards - use the Comment Board (https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=95465) or email.
  4. On July 13, 9:00, we will have a call to finalize changes.
  5. On July 18, we will post the finalized Standards and Techniques documents (although the Techniques don't have to be 100% done by then).
  6. After July 18, we will focus on how to improve compliance through outreach, training, monitoring & enforcement.

Thanks again!