
	Peter Korn's Weblog The collected occasional commentary by Peter Korn, Accessibility Architect at Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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Wednesday August 23, 2006

Massachusetts Accessibility Memorandum of Understanding

The Information Technology Division of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, along with the Office of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Administration and Finance, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Massachusetts Office on Disability. This memorandum addresses the accessibility of information technology procured and used in Massachusetts government going forward. Specifically, it is concerning:

ITD’s (1) Research regarding Adoption of the Federal “Section 508” Standard with Respect to the Executive Department’s Acquisition of Information Technology, (2) Enforcement of its Current Web Accessibility Standards for Websites and Web-Based Applications, (3) Adoption of Standards Requiring Inclusion of Certain Contractual Provisions regarding Accessibility and Usability Testing and (4) Adoption of Standards Requiring Training of Developers in Accessible Design, and Provision of Such Training

The memorandum states further that:

The goals of the Commonwealth’s efforts in this area should be:
  a. Accessibility and usability of technology, regardless of disability;
  b. Maintenance of said technology; and
  c. Transitions to new or upgraded computer or telecommunication-based technologies that are as seamless for people with disabilities as they are for people without disabilities.

The memorandum also commits ITD to establishing a "unit devoted to accessible technology", which as far as I can tell has already been done. In fact, ITD has hired Joe Lazzaro as the Manager of Assistive Technology in ITD (Joe was formerly with the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind), and has a website devoted to accessibility guidance within ITD.

With this memorandum, Massachusetts Government demonstrates (again) their leadership on the issues of technology accessibility. (2006-08-23 17:12:18.0) Permalink