Sites for the Blind

Baldwin Louie — Mon, 18 Jun 2001 15:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON - When Gary Wunder was studying computer programming in the 1970s, he had to pay for more than just tuition and books. Blind since birth, Wunder hired a helper to read punch cards and printouts for him so he could complete his degree. As technology improved, Wunder started using a Braille-equipped computer terminal in his work as a programmer for the University of Missouri's hospital system. But in the 1990s, Wunder was tripped up by the rise of software developed with the assumption that all computer users can see icons and wield a mouse.

"I think for a while some of us tried to dismiss them as glitzy and cute," says Wunder of graphical programs like Windows. "But they're not going away. It's kind of a step backward" for disabled computer users, he says. Besides the technical hurdles such technology presents at work, Wunder is frustrated by his inability to use the Internet to access federal government documents and services or pay his taxes like millions of other Americans do.

But Wunder is about to get some help from the federal government. On June 21, new regulations take effect requiring federal Web sites to be accessible by patrons who are blind, deaf or have other impediments. Government purchasing agents will have to observe detailed regulations when buying equipment ranging from computers to telephones to photocopiers. For companies angling for a slice of the federal government's multibillion-dollar procurement pie, the new rules mean changing the way they do business.

The stakes are huge. The federal government spent an estimated $37.6 billion on information technology in the 1999 fiscal year. The General Services Administration estimates that a third of that money was spent on technology covered under the new rules. The government forecasts it will cost at least $85 million annually to comply with the regulations.

Advocates are optimistic that the federal requirements will promote widespread availability of technology that can be used more easily by the disabled. According to the Census Bureau, 54 million people - about one-fifth of the U.S. population - have some level of disability.

"The rules challenge the designers of information technology to design for more than just one [type of] user," says James Gashel, a spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind. "They'll have a major ripple effect throughout the economy."

The new rules require software programs purchased by federal agencies to use text, not just screen icons, to identify functions. Web sites for federal agencies must be designed to minimize obstacles for disabled users. For instance, information on federal sites or those operated by government contractors must be accessible to electronic screen readers that convert text to speech. Sites that convey information through the use of color, such as highlighting certain words, must offer data that is not color-coded. And pictures and graphics must be tagged with text descriptions.

GRANTING ACCESS
By June 21, all federal agencies must comply with new rules for providing disabled persons with access to Web sites and other technology.
Medium	What Must Be Done
Software and operating systems	Functions must be executable with keyboard commands; program functions must be represented by text as well as icons; color-coding can't be the only means of conveying information.
Web sites	Directions and cues for electronic forms must be readable with tools such as screen readers; all information conveyed with color must be available without color; users must be alerted to timed responses and given a chance to signal they need more time to complete a function; pictures and graphics must be tagged with text descriptions.
Telecommunications equipment	Must support standard TTY (teletypewriter) equipment; controls and keys must be operable with one hand; all locking or toggling keys must operate by touch or sound.
Video and multimedia	Televisions with screens larger than 13 inches must have closed-captioning; training and informational videos must have closed-captioning and audio descriptions of key visual content; users must be able to select text or audio descriptions.
Source: U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

The regulations apply to other technologies as well. For instance, television sets, training videos and multimedia presentations must use closed-captioning.

Technology companies that count the government as a client must make sure their products also meet the new standards.

One company that's set to compete for government dollars is Microsoft. The company's Accessible Technology Group tries to ensure that Microsoft's software can be used by the disabled.

"For us, it's a marketing initiative," says Microsoft program manager Laura Ruby. "If we want to sell to the government, we have to make our product the most accessible one out there."

Compaq also has been preparing for the regulations. Michael Takemura, director of Compaq's Accessibility Program, says the company will benefit beyond just continued government business.

"There are 54 million people out there with disabilities," says Takemura, who has been paraplegic since a 1980 car accident. "That's a huge market."

Hewlett-Packard is eyeing that market as well and has begun to make all its products accessible to the disabled, a spokesperson says.

But other tech companies still have a long way to go, according to Olga Grkavac, a spokeswoman for the Information Technology Association of America, a lobbying group. "Not many products are tailored just for this marketplace," she says.

It's unclear just how many federal agencies will meet the June 21 deadline. "I think there's a lot of anxiety because it's new, but people seem to be ready," says Doug Wakefield, a spokesman for the Access Board, which published the regulations. "For Web sites, they're starting with a 70 [percent] or 75 percent compliance rate already, so they're in good shape."

The Department of Veteran's Affairs is one agency that is on schedule. The department, which serves 25 million veterans and their families, consulted its constituents around the country to find out what changes they wanted made to its Web pages and computerized information kiosks. A special procurement committee reviewed the department's contract language and inserted specific technical standards for purchasing everything from workstations to fax machines.

Federal agencies that fail to comply with the disabled-access standards face possible legal action; the law permits government employees and the public to file either administrative complaints or lawsuits for violations of the regulations. Advocates for the disabled have shown that they will go to court to enforce access laws.

For example, the National Federation of the Blind sued America Online in 1999 under the Americans with Disabilities Act, charging that the company's Internet service shut out blind people. The suit was dropped last July after the company promised to build features for disabled access.

For Gary Wunder, the blind Missouri programmer, the new regulations could be the spur that makes the tech industry change the way it designs its products. "The fact that the federal government is going to get involved and say we want technology to be accessible is a good thing for disabled people," he says.

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