Also, if an employer can demonstrate that a requested accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer, it need not be provided. However, if the originally requested accommodation would impose an undue hardship, the employer must consider carefully whether another accommodation exists that would not result in an undue hardship. For further information on these employment requirements, you may want to look at the ADA Title I regulations which are found at 29 CFR Part 1630. Guidelines for electronic and information technology accessibility are designed to ensure, regardless of the type of medium, that individuals with disabilities can produce information and data, and have access to information and data, comparable to that of individuals who are not disabled. Guidelines currently being used under Section 508 are found in Managing Information Resources for Accessibility issued by the General Services Administration's Center on Information Technology Accommodation.
Federal funds are currently available to support the purchase of educational technology.
There are no mandated access requirements that educational technology products must meet prior to becoming available for purchase. Many educational technology products on the market today have not been designed to provide or support full access for individuals with disabilities. There is currently no independent review entity that provides buyers with authoritative information regarding the accessibility of educational or other types of technologies or information on how products compare to each other concerning accessibility. Information on the accessibility of certain products is available, however, from many of the resources listed in response to Question 10 and from the manufacturers themselves. The checklists, guides, and resources enclosed and referenced in this technical assistance packet are intended to provide a school with examples of ways to include accessibility in its technology purchasing decisions.