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Interagency Trusted Tester Program

The mission of the Interagency Trusted Tester Program is to promote a unified, consistent, sharable, and repeatable test and evaluation approach for Section 508 standards conformance that federal agencies can implement throughout their information technology lifecycle to reduce redundant testing and improve cost savings. This effort supports an overall vision* of improving IT accessibility across government through unified requirements, reviews [test and evaluation], reporting, remediation, and reuse.

Accessibility Training News

The Revised Section 508 Standards were released in January of 2018. All OAST training resources are being updated to support implementation of the Revised Section 508 Standards.

Emergency

Civil Rights in Emergencies and Disasters

The DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) supports individual and community resilience to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other emergencies. Through guidance, planning and coordination, CRCL works to ensure that civil rights and civil liberties are integrated into disaster-related policies and procedures.

Trusted Tester V5 Testing Tools

The following information is provided to assist agencies to get testing tools required by Trusted Tester V5 approved for use within their IT environments. This information is based on the latest status of the Federal Accessibility Community of Practice Working Group. Some tools may be updated prior to the final Trusted Tester V5 release, however we recommend initiating approval procedures for these tools now to prepare for fall release of the updated process.

Trusted Tester V3 Training and Certification Sunset

After nearly five years of operation, the online Trusted Tester V3 training and certification is coming to an end.  As of 06/29/2018, the DHS Office of Accessible Systems and Technology (OAST) is no longer accepting training requests for Trusted Tester V3.  To prepare for the fall release of the updated Trusted Tester V5 training and certification online courses, no further enrollments will be made in the current online courses.  Students currently enrolled must complete the courses by 09/30/2018.  No retaking of courses will be allowed after that date, with no exceptions.  Trusted Tester V5 and other online training will be released in the fall.

Updates to the DHS Trusted Tester Program

On April 12, 2018, the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer Office of Accessible Systems and Technology (OAST) announced updates to the DHS Trusted Tester Program.

DHS Section 508 Compliance Testing Tools

This guide provides a list of the testing tools used in the DHS Section 508 Compliance Test Process for Applications.  It explains the installation steps in detail, and important information to help you download the necessary components from the host websites.

S&T Improving Communication between Ambulances and the Hearing-impaired

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers face high rates of injuries and fatalities. There is a need to ensure that drivers are accurately warned of the presence of an ambulance so that they can quickly remove themselves from the ambulance’s path and reduce the probability of injury to themselves, EMS workers, and patients. One population that particularly faces challenges in recognizing an ambulance’s presence is the hearing-impaired. Over 38 million people (12 percent of the population) in the United States have a significant hearing loss (Center for Hearing Loss and Communication, 2013). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) sponsored an effort to explore the challenges faced by the hearing-impaired in detecting and localizing an ambulance in the area and identify technologies that could address these challenges.

Accessibility

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology is committed to providing access to our webpages for individuals with disabilities, both members of the public and federal employees. To meet this commitment, we will comply with the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from us, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us.

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