UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY 

MEMORANDUM SEP 2 8 2011 

TO: Assistant Secretaries 

Senior Officers 

FROM: Tony Miller, Deputy Secretaryd~ Peter Cunningham, Assistant SecretarJiior Co munications and Outreach 

Martha Kanter, Under S~~ 

SUBJECT: Accessibility Enhancement Initiative 

Ensuring that government information is accessible and transparent to all internal and 

external stakeholders has been a major focus of the Obama administration. Therefore, now 

more than ever, the Department of Education actively uses the Internet as an important tool 

to communicate with employees, grantees, contractors, school officials, organization leaders, 

students, parents, teachers, and other concerned members ofthe public. With the rapidly 

growing use of social media, electronic information and the Internet, it is particularly 

important that our use ofWeb sites, social media, and other electronic information comply 

with federal legal requirements for accessibility. In addition to our legal obligations, 

Secretary Duncan has stated that access to information about the Department's work for all, 

especially individuals with disabilities, is "a necessary step toward fully engaging our 

colleagues in ways that will help address our education system's greatest challenges and 

promote the successful work of schools across the country." The purpose of this 

memorandum is to briefly outline the federal legal requirements on accessibility and to 

outline our initiative to improve Department-wide electronic information technology and 

Internet accessibility. 

To continue to carry out our responsibilities to provide all stakeholders with equal access to 

information, all of us in the Department of Education must work together to help meet the 

goal of ensuring compliance with accessibility requirements in Section 508 and Section 504 of 

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 508 generally requires that Federal agencies ensure 

that electronic and information technology which they develop, maintain, use, or procure be 

accessible to persons with disabilities. Unlike Section 508, which is focused on technology, 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires equal access for individuals with disabilities to 

all programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance, as well as to activities 

conducted by Federal agencies. While the immediate focus ofthis initiative is accessibility to 

electronic information technology and the Internet, it is part of a larger and on-going effort to 

help ensure that individuals with disabilities are included and can participate equitably in all 

our agency's programs and activities. 

400 MARYLAND AVE., S.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202 

Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. 
To ensure that the Department continually makes accessibility a priority and meets its 

obligations under Section 508 and 5041 , a small workgroup ofmembers from OCIO, OCO, 

OSERS, OCR, OGC, and OUS was convened to advise us on launching and implementing a 

Department-wide accessibility initiative. 

The goals ofthe initiative include, but are not limited to: 

• 	 establishing more robust accessibility policies and standards; 

• 	 developing tools, support, and training for those responsible for developing and 

maintaining content; and 

• 	 establishing processes for periodic review and evaluation of accessibility policies, 

standards, and practices at the Department. 

We also expect to work more closely with recipients of Department funds to help ensure that 

they are meeting their responsibilities and addressing these goals.z This initiative will engage 

all Department offices and we are asking each of you to designate a specific staff member in 

your Principal Office to act as a contact point and to assist the workgroup in implementing 

this very important effort. The current members ofthe workgroup will reach out to the 

designated Principal Office contacts and to other representatives, to participate in these 

efforts as needed. Please provide the name of your office's contact point to Holly Anderson. 

Policy Liaison for Individuals with Disabilities. Office ofthe Under Secretary. by October 14. 

2011. 

Finally, we want to thank you in advance for your cooperation and for assisting in this very 

important initiative. 

If you have any questions, please contact Holly Anderson at holly.anderson@ed.gov or (202) 

453-6380. 

cc: 	 Russlyn Ali Nia Phillips 

Alexa Posny Karen Senkel 

Phil Rosenfelt Kirk Winters 

Danny Harris Ron Petracca 

Sunil Mansukhani Don Barrett 

Karen Cator Holly Anderson 

Ken Moore 

1 Ensuring that individuals with limited English proficiency [LEP) receive meaningful access to Department 

services, programs, or activities, is also a Department priority and is required by Executive Order 13166In 

response to a February 17, 2011 Memorandum issued by the Attorney General to all Federal agencies, the 

Department is revising its Language Assistance Plan and Procedures that provide guidelines for Department 

personnel to follow when providing services to individuals who are LEP. 2 We will also be working with grantees and contractors to remind them oftheir obligations to meet accessibility 

requirements under Section 504 and under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that a recipient 

make its programs, services, and activities accessible to people with disabilities.