Updates to the DHS Trusted Tester Program

The DHS Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) Office of Accessible Systems and Technology (OAST) is pleased to announce the following Trusted Tester Program updates.

Trusted Tester V5 Roadmap

The Revised Section 508 Standards were released in January of 2017 and became enforceable in January of 2018.  To support this update of the Section 508 standards, the Federal Accessibility Community of Practice Best Practices Community of Practice has been updating several resources with the Revised Section 508 Standards for web, software, electronic content and the Harmonized Baseline for Testing Conformance.  The Harmonized Baseline is used to develop streamlined test processes which best fit unique IT organization usage.

The Trusted Tester Process, training, and Trusted Tester Certification are also being updated to align with the updated Baseline and are slated for fall 2018 release.  The updated Trusted Tester process Version 5 supports the World Wide Web consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level A and Level AA as required by the Revised Section 508 Standards, and supports the software requirements in the Revised Section 508 Standards.  Electronic document authoring and evaluation guidelines are covered at Create Accessible Electronic Documents.

IMPORTANT -- Existing V3 certified Trusted Testers must recertify for Trusted Tester V5.

Timeline

The following milestone timeline is listed below:

• June 30, 2018: End of new enrollments for the Trusted Tester V3 training and Certification exam. Note: Students currently enrolled will be allowed to complete their training and take the V3 certification exam until September 30 2018
• October 1, 2018: Start of new enrollments for the Trusted Tester V5 training and Certification exam.
• September 30, 2019: Trusted Tester V3 or V4 test results no longer accepted in DHS HQ and DHS component governance processes.

 Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What are the Trusted Tester V5 Certification courses?
   • The Trusted Tester V5 Certification training will consist of 5 Courses:
     • FAC49R - What is Section 508 and Why Is It Important?
     • FAC50R - Section 508 Testing Tool Installation
     • FAC51R - Section 508 Standards
     • FTE250R - Trusted Tester Training
     • FTE251R - Trusted Tester Certification
2. Will Instructor support for students be available?
   • Instructor support will be available via webinar.
3. How long will it take to complete Trusted Tester V5 certification for the first time?
   • We recommend students allocate 40 – 80 hours for certification.
4. How long will it take to recertify?
   • OAST recommends students allocate 40 – 60 hours for recertification.
5. When do I need to obtain the Trusted Tester V5 Certification?
   • If you are a Trusted Tester V3 that provides test results to any DHS agency, then you must recertify by April 1, 2019.

Contact the DHS Accessibility Helpdesk at accessibility@hq.dhs.gov if you have any additional questions.

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