Section 508 Testing Tool

The 2017 Section 508 ICT Refresh requires that information and communication technology procured, developed, or used by federal agencies conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA for web content. fixa11y tests against WCAG 2.1 AA, which is a strict superset — passing fixa11y means passing the web-content portions of 508 (Chapter 5, Sections 502 and 503).

Mappings of interest for federal reviewers:

• 502.3 Interoperability with Assistive Technology → WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
• 502.4 Platform Accessibility Features → WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard, 2.4.7 Focus Visible
• 503.4 Caption and Audio Description → WCAG 1.2.2, 1.2.5
• 504 Authoring Tools → applies if your product is itself a content authoring tool

Federal contractors preparing VPAT/ACR documents, agency modernization teams remediating legacy React portals, state procurement teams enforcing parallel state-level standards (California Government Code 11135, Texas TAC 213), and enterprise compliance teams that adopted 508 as their internal floor.

// Federal portal — fails 508 Chapter 5 (502.3.1, 503.4)
<table>
  <tr><td>Name</td><td>Status</td></tr>
  <tr><td>Form 1040</td><td><img src="/check.png" /></td></tr>
</table>

<div onClick={download}>Download PDF</div>

<table>
  <caption>Filing status</caption>
  <thead>
    <tr><th scope="col">Form</th><th scope="col">Status</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <th scope="row">Form 1040</th>
      <td><img src="/check.png" alt="Submitted" /></td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<a href="/forms/1040.pdf" download>Download Form 1040 PDF</a>

The fixed version adds a table caption, proper header scope, meaningful alt text on the status icon, and replaces the clickable div with a real download link — the pattern federal reviewers expect to see in remediated forms.

The CLI outputs JSON with per-finding fields for file, line, column, wcag, section508, and remediation — a shape that drops directly into Jira, ServiceNow, and the ICT inventory spreadsheets agencies use to track Section 508 program compliance.

fixa11y audit ./src --report 508-report.json --standard section-508

Automated testing catches the deterministic failures — roughly 30–40% of WCAG/508 issues in published research. Conformance for a VPAT still requires manual testing with screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), keyboard-only walkthroughs, and user testing with people with disabilities. fixa11y eliminates the long tail of mechanical findings so your manual testers spend time on what actually requires human judgment.