3. Information Technology Accessibility
As an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 requires federal agencies to procure and maintain electronic and information technology that is accessible to persons with disabilities. The Postal Service formed a group to create specific guidelines for the Postal Service, which update policies and procedures. This team successfully brought the Postal Service into compliance with Section 508 by the June 21, 2001, deadline. During 2001, the dedicated team provided educational services, reviewed nearly one thousand Postal Service Web sites, modified hundreds of systems, and identified over one thousand unregistered sites within the Postal Service web environment. While the 508 Program Team has focused primarily on the Web to this point, their attention is turned now toward other aspects of the Postal Service, including documents pertaining to the human resources department, the purchasing department, the legal department, and the Consumer Advocate’s Office. Section 508 will continue to guide how the Postal Service provides universal access to information.