ODDC- Assistive Technology and Telecommunications

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Title:The National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, December 2001 - December 2002- Assistive Technology and Telecommunications
Author: National Council on Disability, http://www.ncd.gov/ (KACW 10/8/03)
Kathy’s Note: The National Council on Disability’s progress report is a 125 page document, covering a variety of issues, such a Civil Rights, Education, Health Care, Long-Term Services and Supports, Youth, Employment, Welfare Reform, Housing, Assistive Technology and Telecommunications, Transportation, and International Issues and Homeland Security. After much thought, I have decided to prepare a report on the broad issues and prepare a report on each of the above issues
The Assistive Technology Act: Although the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (AT Act) formerly the Tech Act) was due to sunset last year, the program remains in operation while still facing termination. Without this program, a number of significant NFI initiatives would be in jeopardy. The AT Act supports protection and advocacy services for AT in the states and nationwide technical assistance, that would be jeopardized by its elimination. These programs have been able to introduce AT-related considerations into state policy and decision-making. Because the focus of these state-based entities is technology, rather than any one particular statute or agency, they have been able to address issues and participate in deliberations involving programs for people of all ages across the spectrum of state policy. Planning for Olmstead, brokering state interagency coordination, and outreach about technology would be impaired without this program while the savings would be minimal. Without state AT programs, it is unclear how a number of Administration programs will be carried out. For example, the alternative financing program loan funds operating under Title III of the AT Act have been established and managed by these state AT Act projects, with not-for-profit organizations and banks. On December 26, 2002, the announcement of additional consumer AT loan initiative specifically directed to telework opportunities for people with disabilities further complicates the question of how these programs will be administered and monitored.
Section 508:Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies, when they buy electronic and information technology (E&IT) to purchase goods and services accessible to persons with disabilities, except when the technology is unavailable or when it presents an undue burden. The General Services Administration (GSA)-sponsored Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative have produced and maintained the Website (www.section508.gov) with information about accessible products and lists of federal agency Section 508 contacts. The GSA-sponsored Accessibility Forum has strengthened the partnership between the Federal Government, industry and consumer groups in coming to consensus under the new law. Other federally supported resources have been developed to provide relevant information and technical assistance to other key sectors such as the education system and state governments. Micropurchases, small purchases made on government credit cards outside the formal federal procurement structure, had been exempt from most 508 requirements through last year. That deadline has now been extended by almost another two years. Though the proportion of E&IT bought through micropurchasing is not large, the extension is significant because of the reasons for it. One reason was the failure of manufacturers to provide sufficient package information or other data to allow micropurchasers to assess the accessibility of various items. While this failure does not represent a deliberate effort by any sector of industry to undermine the law, the delay does highlight the vulnerability of the 508 process, suggesting that the government has been without practical means for achieving compliance. A related problem is the unevenness of Section 508 monitoring. The law does not contain provisions for ongoing monitoring of many key practices; such as the number of instances agencies use the "undue burden" or other defenses, when E&IT cannot be made accessible. As a component of WIA, the Rehabilitation Act, including Section 508, is up for reauthorization this year.
E-Government: The E-Government Act of 2002 authorizes a four-year fund to develop interagency and intergovernmental (federal, state and local) subject-matter-based Web sites; create a permanent office of e-government run by a presidential appointed administrator in the OMB; and calls for the development of common practices and policies governing the informational content of federal Web sites. From the design of Web sites to the informational content of Web pages, federal E&IT practices are likely to come under the management of the OMB’s new chief information officer (CIO). To assist the CIO, NCD is eager to work with the new office to ensure the highest awareness of accessibility issues confronting users of federal electronic information resources; provide the administrator with early warnings of new problems and prompt feedback on attempted solutions; and to ensure the most up-to-date information on accessibility strategies and resources. E-Government could be one of the greatest forces for inclusion and empowerment in our history.
The Congressional Accountability Act: Congress does not have to comply with several laws administration by executive branch, including the ADA. Congress enacted the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), applying several major laws to Congress itself and set up mechanisms for their administration. Congress is still not subject to the requirements of Section 508; nor are such "Congressional instrumentalities" as the Library of Congress, the Government Printing Office or the GAO. In 2001, the Congressional Office of Compliance (which administers the CAA) recommended that Congress bring itself under the provisions of Section 508. The Library of Congress (as well as the Government Printing Office) has announced it will voluntarily comply with Section 508's requirements. In addition, the House of Representatives has recommended that all offices and committees make their Web sites voluntarily 508-compliant and the upgraded Senate web site will be 508-compliant.
The Federal Communications Commission: Several issues falling within the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have profound implications for opportunities for Americans with disabilities in the information age. They indicate that the FCC may have a greater influence on the lives of Americans with disabilities than any other federal agency. But the FCC has reconfigured the Consumer/Disability Advisory Committee to remove the term "Disability" from its title.
Section 255: Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires manufacturers of telecommunications and "customer premises" equipment and the providers of telecommunications services make their equipment and services accessible to users with disabilities, to the extent readily achievable. But the law only covers voice communication, not data or pictures, and only the equipment or parts of the equipment that facilitate voice communication over the phone, not high-speed data, graphics, faxes, e-mail, or cable. The FCC should change its scope of Section 255 to ensure access to the emerging telecommunications services for people with disabilities. The FCC is considering changing the classification for all broadband technology and communications to "information services" rather than "telecommunications services." This difference is important because only telecommunications services, not information services, are subject to the accessibility requirements of the law. If the Commission rules that all ‘broadband’ is ‘information services’, then everything carried via broadband will become immune from civil rights protection under Section 255 and the regulation will become more and more irrelevant.
THE E-Rate: Since its enactment as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the e-rate has provided grants and subsidies worth billions of dollars to libraries and schools to access the Internet and other electronic information resources. These subsidies are targeted at institutions in economically disadvantaged areas, which might otherwise have few resources for keeping up with the information revolution. People with disabilities continue to be excluded from the benefits of this commitment, because the FCC has failed to require e-rate grantees to utilize accessible equipment, so many people with disabilities may not benefiting from the e-rate subsidies targeted to their schools and libraries. Because the law is so complex, the FCC may not have the authority to impose accessibility requirements on e-rate grantees. If the FCC believes this to be true, they should make it public so advocates can begin the necessary work of obtaining either added legislative authority or the required cooperation of other federal agencies. If on the other hand the FCC does regard itself as authorized to act upon the promise of accessibility here, the regulatory process should be initiated without delay.
Cell Phone Access for Users of Hearing Aids: The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) designed to develop a record to determine whether wireless phones should be required to be hearing aid compatible. The Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 had exempted wireless phones from that requirement but had also provided for periodic review by the FCC of the need to continue the exemption. The record developed by the FCC under the NPRM would demonstrate that the technology exists, but the FCC has not released any findings or entered any orders pursuant to this NPRM. If the record does not support the potential for accessibility using current technology, then the FCC should develop a plan for bringing together the key stakeholders to implement and monitor the necessary additional research and development.
Audio Description: Audio description or descriptive video is to people who are blind what closed-captioning is to people who are deaf. Through insertion of narrative descriptions of the key visual events in the program, persons who are blind or visually impaired can follow what is going on. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 instructed the FCC to conduct research into this process. As of April 2002, the FCC required large commercial and cable broadcasters to carry a minimum number of hours of video-described programming each quarter. A number of major broadcasters, including the Public Broadcasting System and Turner Classic Movies, have been presenting video-described programming for some time, and a number of other broadcasters have either begun to do so or have indicated an interest in doing so. Nevertheless, others have objected. In November 2002, in a suit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down the FCC’s video-description rule, characterizing it as without statutory basis. The Commission should quickly assess the administrative or legislative steps necessary to reinstate or repair appropriate description requirements, and to build awareness in the involved industries of the importance and feasibility of this resource.
Recommendations:
- The AT Act should be reauthorized
- Congress amend the barrier-removal deduction to include information-access and communications technology barriers
- Congress and the Administration establish a national commission to study the potential impact on existing programs on people with disabilities and on government expenditure resulting from systematic and intensive application of technology.
- The108th Congress act to apply Section 508 to itself
- Congress revise the disabled access credit by providing clear standards by which the voluntary accessible-design efforts undertaken by small businesses.
- The FCC administrator restate the office’s commitment to accessibility and take steps to incorporate that commitment into all guidelines, procedures and expenditures
- The FCC should immediately clarify that Section 255 protections are an issue of civil rights, not of deregulation.
- The FCC should publish the findings of its cell phone-hearing aid compatibility inquiry and, if they support the technical feasibility of cell phone-hearing aid compatibility, to implement a timetable for its achievement.
- FCC address the costs and benefits that would accrue to government and to various private entities and institutions by implementing universal and accessible design practices
- FCC develop procedures for investigating Section 255 complaints by:
  Developing appropriate sanctions for those cases where manufacturers, vendors or service providers are found to be out of compliance;
  Taking an active role in evaluating respondents’ reasons why accessibility is not readily achievable;
  Reinstituting the procedures to evaluate industry progress in achieving accessibility; and identifying areas of research and development where more focused efforts, resources or investment may be required
- FCC will quickly assess what administrative or legislative steps are necessary to reinstate or repair appropriate description requirements, and to build awareness in the involved industries of the importance and feasibility of descriptive video for both entertainment and public affairs programming, including all emergency preparedness information.

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