Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee; Meeting

ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD

Electronic and Information Technology Access Advisory Committee;

Meeting

AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

(Access Board) has established an advisory committee to assist it in

developing a proposed rule on accessibility standards for electronic

and information technology covered by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments

of 1998. This document gives notice of the dates, times, and location

of the next meeting of the Electronic and Information Technology Access

Advisory Committee (Committee).

DATES: The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for March 29 and

30, 1999, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. each day.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held at 1331 F Street, NW., Washington,

DC, in the third floor training room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doug Wakefield, Office of Technical

and Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers

Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-

1111. Telephone number (202) 272-5434 extension 39 (Voice); (202) 272-

5449 (TTY). E-mail address: [email protected]. This document

is available in alternate formats (cassette tape, Braille, large print,

or computer disk) upon request. This document is also available on the

Board's Internet Site at http://www.access-board.gov/notices/

eitaacmtg.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 29, 1998, the Access Board

published a notice appointing 23 members to its Electronic and

Information Technology Access

[[Page 9968]]

Advisory Committee (Committee). 63 FR 51891 (September 29, 1998). The

Committee will make recommendations to the Access Board on

accessibility standards for electronic and information technology

covered by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. The Committee is

composed of Federal agencies and Federal contractors; the electronic

and information technology industry; organizations representing the

access needs of individuals with disabilities; and other persons

affected by accessibility standards for electronic and information

technology. At its first meeting on October 15 and 16, 1998, the

Committee took the following actions:

Added Compaq Computers, Pitney Bowes, Sun Microsystems,

and the Information Technology Industry Council to the Committee;

Formed three subcommittees. One subcommittee will examine

the definitions needed for the recommended standards. Another

subcommittees will examine the various functions that are performed by

electronic and information technology. These functions include

creating, processing, transmitting, and interacting with information

and the technology involved. A third subcommittee will begin the

process of classifying the variety of products covered by the standards

into product families;

Created a listserv to facilitate communications between

meetings. To subscribe to the listserv send an e-mail message to:

[email protected].; and

Established a schedule of meeting dates. In addition to

the meeting on March 29-30, 1999, the Committee will meet again on May

11-12, 1999.

At its second meeting on December 1 and 2, 1998, the Committee

addressed the scope of the standards it will be recommending to the

Access Board. This included defining the term ``electronic and

information technology''. A three person group was appointed to develop

a recommended definition and present it to the Committee at its January

meeting. Additionally, four subcommittees were formed. These include:

installation and setup, information presentation, control and

operation, and user information. The subcommittees will examine these

specific areas and identify access barriers in each area, and recommend

standards that could lower or eliminate these barriers. The

subcommittees will continue their work on the listserv.

At its third meeting on January 5-6, 1999, the Committee adopted a

working definition for electronic and information technology based on

the definition of information technology in the Clinger-Cohen Act of

1996 (40 U.S.C. 1401(3)). The four subcommittees, created during the

December meeting, continued work on their specified areas.

The Committee met for the fourth time on February 8-9, 1999, and

shifted from identifying access barriers to developing functional

standards to address the access barriers. A draft final report is

expected to be discussed at the Committee's next meeting in March. The

Committee also heard presentations from the Federal Acquisition

Regulatory Council on how the Federal Acquisition Regulations are

promulgated; a presentation by a vice president of the American

National Standards Institute on how conformity to standards takes

place; and, a member of the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council

who briefed the Committee on the duties of an agency's CIO.

The meetings are open to the public. There will be a public comment

period each day for persons interested in presenting their views to the

Committee. The facility is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Sign language interpreters, assistive listening systems and real-time

transcription will be available.

Lawrence W. Roffee,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 99-4992 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am]

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