Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2021 Agency Report

1. Please provide a summary of your agency’s activities undertaken to carry out the provisions of 

OMB Circular A-119, “Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities” and the National Technology Transfer and 

Advance Act (NTTAA). The summary should contain a link to the agency’s standards-specific 

website(s) where information about your agency’s standards and conformity assessment related 

activities are available.

The U.S. Access Board is an independent federal agency that promotes equality for people with 

disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and 

standards. We are responsible for developing, or assisting in the development of, accessibility standards 

and guidelines under several federal statutes, including: the Americans with Disabilities Act (buildings 

and facilities, and transportation vehicles), Architectural Barriers Act (federal buildings and facilities); 

Communications Act (telecommunications equipment); Rehabilitation Act (information and 

communication technology used or procured by federal agencies); Patient Protection and Affordable 

Care Act (medical diagnostic equipment); Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act 

(prescription drug labels); and Help America Vote Act (voluntary voting system guidelines).

In FY 2021, as in previous reporting years, the Access Board relied heavily on voluntary consensus 

standards to fulfill its regulatory mission. While we did not publish any new or revised substantive 

(technical) regulations during this fiscal year, our existing guidelines and standards continue to 

incorporate by reference about 25 voluntary consensus standards, ranging from web content 

accessibility guidelines to specifications that relate to the determination of playground surface 

accessibility.

The Access Board also has a long history of working with standards development organizations (SDOs) 

on the development of consensus standards relating to accessible design. In FY 2021, Access Board staff 

served on numerous SDO committees, technical working groups, and cooperative research panels to 

ensure that the agency’s technical expertise and perspective were brought to bear on the development 

(or revision) of model codes and standards that affect accessibility in a wide range of settings.

For example, agency staff served on, or provided technical assistance to, the following model code 

groups, SDOs, and research cooperatives:

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers, A18 Platform Lift and Stairway Chair Lift Committee;

• American Society of Testing and Materials, Committee on Sports Equipment, Playing Surfaces, and 

Facilities;

• International Code Council, Consensus Committee on Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities 

(ASC A117);

• National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices;

• National Cooperative Highway Research Panel (sponsored by the Transportation Research Board 

(TRB:);

• Transportation Cooperative Research Panel (sponsored by TRB);

• Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Tech. Society of North America, Standards Comm. on 

Cognitive Accessibility;
• TRB Standing Committee on Innovative Public Transportation Services and Technologies;

• RESNA Standards Committee for Assistive Technology for Air Travel; and

• World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessibility Guidelines Working Group,

Additionally, two Access Board members serve as statutory representatives on the Election Assistance 

Commission (EAC) Advisory Board and Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC). The role 

of the EAC Advisory Board is to advise the EAC through review of the Voluntary Voting Systems 

Guidelines (VVSG) and the TGDC, chaired by the NIST director, assists EAC in developing the VVSG. On 

February 10th, 2021, the EAC formally announced adoption of the VVSG 2.0 and that the four EAC 

Commissioners had unanimously approved the VVSG 2.0 documents. For 2021, the EAC Advisory Board 

and TGDC meetings were held virtually, and work continued with updating VVSG 2.0 supplemental 

materials, including life cycle guidance for migrating from deprecated VVSG versions. In addition to the 

Advisory Board and TGDC, Access Board members and staff also attend other EAC public hearings.

Additional information about the Access Board’s accessibility standards and guidelines can be found at: 

https://www.access-board.gov (see “Guidelines & Standards” tab).

2. Please list the government-unique standards (GUS) your agency began using in lieu of voluntary 

consensus standards during FY 2021. Please note that GUS which are still in effect from previous years 

should continue to be listed, thus the total number in your agency's report will include all GUS 

currently in use (previous years and new as of this FY): 0