Accessibility

DHS Section 508 Compliance Testing Tools

The following information is provided to facilitate the approval of testing tools required by Trusted Tester​ within any IT environments. The Federal Accessibility Community of Practice Working Group constantly updates this information. You can find the latest web testing methodology in the Trusted Tester 5.1 GitHub repository, updated January 2024. All certified Trusted Testers must use this version, as it includes enhancements and updates to the testing process.

Installation and Setup Instructions for Trusted Tester Testing Software

This guide provides guidance on how to install the required testing software that will be used by Trusted Testers following the Trusted Tester Test Process for Applications.

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.

ITTP Resources

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.

* Denotes proposed statements that will be finalized once ITTP Steering Committee is formalized.

Trusted Tester Fact Sheet and Training Information

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Accessible Systems & Technology (OAST) is committed to the development of the common testing approach for accessibility compliance and conformity, named Trusted Tester (TT).  TT provides a code-inspection based test approach for determining software and web site conformance to the Section 508 standards.

Section 508 Trusted Tester Conformance Test Process

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Customer Experience Directorate (CXD), formerly known as the Office of Accessible Systems & Technology (OAST), is committed to the development of Trusted Tester, a common testing approach for accessibility compliance and conformity. Trusted Tester provides a code-inspection based test approach for determining web content conformance to the Section 508 standards. 

DHS IT Policy Archive

Download the DHS IT Policy Archive file: ZIP |  Individual Files

DHS Section 508 Compliance Test Processes

Section 508 compliance test processes from DHS to support their mission to provide strategic direction, technical support, and training to ensure agency employees and customers with disabilities have equal access to information and data.

Reasonable Accommodations for Employees and Applicants With Disabilities

DHS Directive 259-01, and its accompanying Instruction 259-01-001, establishes the Department's policy for providing reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities. DHS Instruction Manual 259-01-001-01 establishes procedures for processing requests for reasonable accommodations for DHS Headquarters (HQ) employees and applicants with disabilities.

Section 508 Publications

A list of current DHS Section 508 Compliance Test Processes.