STK Consulting & Services Inc. Commitment to the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act

STK International uses a variety of methodologies to ensure that our technology systems are in compliance with U.S. federal, state, and agency requirements for people with disabilities.

Section 508 Accessibility

Section 508, a 1998 amendment to the U.S. Federal Rehabilitation Act, mandates that the electronic and information technology used by federal agencies must be accessible to people with disabilities, unless this imposes an undue burden on the agency. Covered disabilities include deafness, blindness, paralysis, convulsive disorders, and developmental disabilities. The standards went into effect in 2001.

STK works with federal clients such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to ensure that their websites and applications meet Section 508 compliance requirements. We believe that universal design and adherence to coding standards are the best means of ensuring access to the broadest possible audience, and our design and evaluation staff works together with our programmers to achieve those goals. We address accessibility issues from the earliest stages of the design process to ensure that barriers are not designed into our clients’ websites or systems.

In addition, STK accessibility specialists offer training in accessible development and design to internal staff and external clients. Trainings can be offered at a client or STK facility, or via web conferencing software.

We are committed to achieving Section 508 compliance in STK systems and services. If we discover that one of our systems has not met compliance requirements, we address that product’s limitations in the next iteration or iterations of the development lifecycle. Once these improvements are made, we update that product’s Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), a tool developed by the General Services Administration to help federal procurement officers identify products and services that meet the requirements set out in Section 508. We encourage clients, partners, and system users to notify us whenever a product or feature does not meet their needs.

STK Evaluation and Remediation Process

STK follows a comprehensive process to achieve our compliance goals:

• Our products undergo a rigorous 508 compliance evaluation that includes:
• Iterative compliance audits with a knowledgeable evaluator
• Assistive technology testing
• Code review and validation
• We provide accurate and detailed reports on new or ongoing accessibility issues in STK or client systems.
• We select supporting products and services that meet, or come closest to meeting, Section 508 requirements in our development process.
• We provide training and workshops in Section 508 compliance for STK developers, project managers, and external clients.
• We provide assistive technology support and information via the Abledata database.
• We provide an alternate version of content, if necessary.