Scope

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it shall be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government' programs and services.

The Joint Training Committee (JTC) and participants in the National Air Pollution Training Program prioritize accessibility for participants in the program. The JTC, training event organizers, and training providers are expected to make good faith efforts to ensure that the program provides people with disabilities equal access to the training resources. The JTC Delivery Workgroup developed this resource to provide disability accommodation best practices to the participants in the National Air Quality Training Program that are developing training content, procuring training contractors, organizing training events, and teaching courses.

Describe the structure of this guide...

Training Program Best Practices

Procurement and Contracting

Buy Accessible Products and Services

State the commitment of the funding agency to accommodating the needs of people with disabilities, and to ensuring equal access to training.

Require training contractors to demonstrate a commitment ADA/508 compliance.

Require training contractors to meet a minimum level of content and delivery accommodations (Level 1), and to make a good-faith effort at meeting more extensive accommodations (Level 2). Provide to contractors a checklist with Level 1 and Level 2 disability accommodation requirements.

Distribute procurement instruments (e.g., RFPs, RFQs, solicitations, contracts) in formats that comply with ADA/508 requirements, and make training funding opportunities accessible to all.

Registration

Ensure registration portals meet ADA/508 requirements. Web-based registration should conform to the latest WCAG.

At a minimum, ask if disability accommodations for a training event are needed at registration and provide contact information to make requests. Ideally, ask about specific disability accommodations

Training Content

Require that all training content is ADA/508 compliant

All virtual training should use closed captions

All streaming content during trainings should use captions

Training materials should be provided in printed formats with larger, sans serif fonts (black text on white background) upon request

Reference Materials

Training Events

Classroom trainings should use microphones for all lectures and question/answer sessions

ADA Compliance Checklist for virtual trainings (US EPA)

Reference Materials

Training Contract Requirements

What to ask for in a training contract?

Online delivery platform will use closed captioning
All streamed video content will use subtitles
Powerpoint presentations will be screened through and pass the Accessibility Checker

Draft Contract Language

ADA/Section 508 Compliance
 
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use information and communication technology (ICT), it shall be accessible to people with disabilities. Federal employees and members of the public who have disabilities must have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to people without disabilities The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government' programs and services. 

The Joint Training Committee (JTC) and participants in the National Air Pollution Training Program ("The Program") prioritize accessibility in The Program. The JTC, training event organizers, and training providers are expected to make good faith efforts to ensure that The Program adequately accommodates training participants with disabilities. 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21) and WCAG 2.1 Quick Reference (https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref) are resources to help training professionals comply with ADA and 508 Standards when developing web-based, online content. Section508.gov provides resources for creating accessible digital products, such as Word, Power Point, and PDF files (https://www.section508.gov/create/). 

The Contractor shall deliver work that complies with the Level 1 requirements and make a good faith effort to comply with Level 2 requirements as listed in the JTC Training Accessibility Guideline Checklist (https://www.ladco.org/wp-content/uploads/Training/JTC/ADA-508-Training-Guideline-Checklist-10Dec2021.pdf).