The courses listed below are intended to improve your understanding of IT accessibility, and Section 508 law, and help you produce digital tools and content that conform to the Revised 508 Standards.
Online Training
On-Demand Webinars
Additional Training Resources
Federal Acquisition Institute
Online Training
The following self-paced courses provide an overview of key aspects of IT accessibility. (Note: Some of these courses are also available through the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI). If you need to earn Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) to meet annual training requirements, we recommend you take designated courses through FAI.)
- Section 508 Awareness - What is a Section 508 Program? This course provides an overview of federal agency 508 programs, and how they help agencies deliver accessible technology products and services to employees and the public.
Audience: Acquisition and procurement professionals; anyone writing a Statement of Objectives (SOO) that incorporates technology; CIOs, CAOs, or anyone interested in learning more about Section 508
Course length: 30 minutes
Certificate or CLPs available?: Yes
- Accessibility of ICT: An Overview for Government Executives – High-level overview of the Revised 508 Standards. Explains roles and responsibilities of Federal government executives, including agency heads, CIOs and CAOs, and Section 508 Program Managers.
Audience: Agency Executives
Course length: 15 minutes
Certificate or CLPs available?: No
- Section 508: What It Is and Why It's Important? – Introduction to Section 508 and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Explains what Section 508 is and why it’s important, shows how conformance can make ICT more accessible, reviews job-related responsibilities for meeting Section 508 standards, offers resources to help you meet your Section 508 responsibilities.
Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about Section 508
Course length: 1 hour
Certificate or CLPs available?: Yes- Take this training on Section508.gov to earn a Certificate of Completion
- Take this training via FAI to earn CLPs (FAI Course #: FAC 049)
- Micro-Purchases and Section 508 Requirements – How to make micro-purchases that conform with the Revised 508 Standards, including how the requirements apply to micro-purchases of hardware, software, and other ICT.
Audience: Government Purchase Card holders, Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer's Representatives (COR), Requiring Officials, Approving Officials and anyone involved in the micro-purchase process
Course length: 30 minutes
Certificate or CLPs available?: Yes- Take this training on Section508.gov to earn a Certificate of Completion
- Take this training via FAI to earn CLPs (FAI Course #: FAC 047)
- Technology Accessibility Playbook: How to Build an Effective Section 508 Program – Describes the 12 plays to integrate strategic, business and technology management into a successful Section 508 program, to ensure Federal ICT is accessible to persons with disabilities.
Audience: Section 508 Program Managers; CIO/IT staff; Acquisition staff
Course length: 2 hours
Certificate or CLPs available?: No
- Procuring Section 508 Conformant ICT Products and Services – Basic overview of the Federal acquisition process with regard to procuring ICT products and services that conform to Section 508.
Audience: Anyone responsible for ensuring ICT products and services are Section 508 conformant (meet the standards)
Course length: 1.5 hours
Certificate or CLPs available?: Yes- Take this training on Section508.gov to earn a Certificate of Completion
- Take this training via FAI to earn CLPs (FAI Course #: FAC 056)
On-Demand Webinars
Learn about the Revised 508 Standards from the U.S. Access Board.
- Section 508 Refresh - ICT Final Standards and Guidelines - Overview of new standards (January 2017)
- Old versus New: Original Section 508 Standards compared to the Revised Section 508 Standards - Overview of what’s changed (May 2017)
- WCAG 2.0 and the Revised Section 508 Standards - Practical advice for implementing the new standards (March 2017)
- Revised Section 508 Chapter 4 Hardware - How to implement the hardware provisions of the new standards (July 2017)
- Revised Section 508 Chapter 5 Software (including Mobile) - How to implement the software provisions of the new standards (September 2017)
Additional Training Resources
- Event Calendar - find and register for upcoming training offered by GSA and other partners
- Training Inventory - list of (non-GSA) accessibility training resources
- Accessibility Presentations and Workshop Materials
- ADA/AccessibilityOnline (US Access Board)
- Partnership on Employment & Accessibility (PEAT)
- Mapping of WCAG 2.0 to Functional Performance Criteria
Federal Acquisition Institute
The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) also offers training on IT accessibility. For a current list of courses, visit the FAI Find and Register for Courses page
You’ll need to create an account to register for training. Follow the steps below to create an account (if you don’t yet have one) and register:
- Visit the FAI Training Acquisition System (FAITAS) login page
- Read the notice and select “I agree”
- If you're already registered:
- Log in with your email address and password
- If you are NOT yet registered:
- Choose the link ”Register Here” and follow the instructions to create an account
- Once you log in, your Dashboard will appear on your screen
- Above your Dashboard, you will see a menu bar; select “Manage Career“
- Then select “Training”
- Then select “Search for Training”
- Use the “Standard Search” option; choose “Continuous Learning Modules” by “Course Number” and search for the course # noted above, for the course you want
- Select “Submit” and follow the prompts to complete the registration process
Please email us at Section.508@gsa.gov with your questions about training for IT Accessibility and Section 508 compliance.
Reviewed/Updated: July 2019