1-3 An Ongoing Postal Service Commitment

Before June 2001, when Section 508 took effect, the Postal Service formed a Program team to define our strategy, to create guidance that specified our techniques to build accessible technology, and to begin the process of institutionalizing the knowledge and skills needed to insure compliance with the law.

Just as the physical environment required legislation to make wheelchair access a part of building codes, the clear mandate for accessible electronic technology has required Section 508. Just as builders took several years to gain a functional understanding of physical accessibility, a period of transition has been part of our conversion to full information technology accessibility compliance.

All software purchased or created by the Postal Service since the law took effect is as compliant with Section 508 standards as possible.