Much of the government’s technology isn’t accessible, internal report finds

Just over a third of the government’s most-viewed websites met legal requirements that they be accessible for people with disabilities.

Nearly 30 years after Congress put accessibility requirements for government technology into law, much of the federal government’s technology still isn’t fully meeting accessibility standards. 

Less than 40% of the government’s most-viewed public webpages are fully accessible, according to a new report by the General Services Administration. 

Overall, the federal government’s technology, including internal webpages, hardware, software, videos and electronic documents, scores only a 1.96 average across a 5-point scale, although accessibility varies widely across agencies.

The congressionally-mandated report is focused on how agencies are doing in their implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires government tech to be accessible for people with disabilities — over 70 million Americans.

Fewer than half of the government’s most-viewed technologies are fully accessible.

Inside ...