Industries / Government

Federal Government Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Standards

Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, mandates that when the federal government purchases most electronic information and technology (EIT), including software applications, it must ensure that the EIT provides access to and use of, information or data to federal government employees with disabilities that is comparable to the access provided to federal government employees without disabilities. Moreover, under the act, the federal government is also obligated to provide access to information and data to members of the public with disabilities that is comparable to the access provided to the public without disabilities.

SAS understands the importance of Section 508 requirements to our customers. The regulations adopted by the federal government to implement Section 508 generally require U.S. government agencies to purchase software solutions that are most compliant with Section 508 requirements. In addition, other customers, including state governments and international bodies, increasingly require compliance with accessibility standards when making procurement decisions. Beyond the legislative compliance, SAS recognizes that universal design and accessibility are good business strategies.

SAS is committed to providing accessible software products and documentation through the ongoing evolution of its product lines. Recognizing that accessible software also provides ease-of-use, we incorporate universal design into our planning process. As we develop our products, we test them with assistive technologies and with operating system accessibility extensions to assess their compliance with applicable Section 508 accessibility criteria established by the federal government. The extent of compliance with the Section 508 accessibility criteria currently varies by product. Upon request of an eligible customer, SAS will provide information detailing the extent to which specific SAS products of interest to the customer support the applicable Section 508 accessibility criteria.

As accessibility requirements, standards and methodologies evolve, our customers can be assured that they will continue to have access to the most current product evolution made available by SAS in our efforts to meet current and future accessibility requirements for disabled users.

At SAS, our mission is to empower organizations around the world with superior software, solutions and services that give them THE POWER TO KNOW®. Consistent with that mission, SAS is committed to extending the THE POWER TO KNOW® to all of our customers.

Learn More:

  • Contact SAS with questions on specific product compliance: accessibility@sas.com 
  • Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPAT) are available upon request. Please contact your SAS sales representative or send your request to accessibility@sas.com.
  • For questions on accessible graphs, see http://support.sas.com 
  • Federal Section 508 web site: http://www.section508.gov/ 
  • Summary of State Accessibility Compliance – compiled by the Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC), funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR): http://www.ittatc.org/laws/state.php 
  • Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) – Provides Web accessibility guidelines cited in many state and international procurement requirements: http://www.w3.org/WAI/