Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2022 Agency Report to NIST

Page 1 of 3

Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2022 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. 

Please note that your agency’s report from last year is provided below in grey text. Please either 

delete and add this year’s report or convert the grey text to black and update the year if nothing has 

changed. Please send this to NIST along with ACCESS FY2022 Q2.

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 2022, 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 2022, 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 
Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2022 Agency Report to NIST

Page 2 of 3

(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,

Two Access Board members serve as statutory representatives on the Election Assistance Commission 

(EAC) Board of Advisors and Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC). The TGDC, chaired 

by the NIST director, is responsible for drafting and recommending versions of the Voluntary Voting 

System Guidelines (VVSG). The Board of Advisors reviews the VVSG, best practice recommendations, 

and follows other EAC activities. For FY 2022, the EAC Board of Advisors and TGDC meetings were held 

virtually and focused on supplemental materials supporting and advancing adoption of VVSG 2.0. In 

addition to the formal Board of Advisors and TGDC meetings, Access Board members and staff also 

attend or participant in other EAC public-facing activities.

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

https://www.access-board.gov (see “Guidelines & Standards” tab).
Access Board (ACCESS) Fiscal Year 2022 Agency Report to NIST

Page 3 of 3

2. Please keep track changes on to record or rescind any new government-unique standards (GUS) 

your agency began using in lieu of voluntary consensus standards (VCS) during FY 2022. Please note, 

GUS which are still in effect from previous years should continue to be listed, and you do not need to 

report your agency’s use of a GUS where no similar VCS exists.

Start by reviewing Table 1: Current Government Unique Standards FY2021. If no changes, record the 

number of GUS in FY2022, save the file, and send to nrioux@nist.gov.

To add a new GUS, please go to Table 2: Government Unique Standards Added in FY2022 and use the 

template provided to add the GUS, VCS, and rationale. If more than one GUS is being added, please 

follow the template in listing any new GUS.

To rescind a GUS, (if they are no longer in use or have been replaced by a voluntary consensus 

standard) please cut the rescinded standard and paste in Table 3: Government Unique Standards 

Rescinded in FY2022. Please add a ‘Rationale for Rescinding’ explaining why the standard was 

rescinded.

Please record below the total number of GUS currently in use (previous years and new as of this FY). 

This number should include the previous total plus any new GUS added, and minus any GUS 

rescinded:

Number of GUS in FY2022: 0 + (new) - (rescinded) = 0

Table 1: Current Government Unique Standards FY2022