Virginia Code 2.2-3503: Procurement requirements
A. The technology access clause specified in clause (iii) of § 2.2-3502 shall be developed by the Secretary of Administration and shall require compliance with the nonvisual access standards established in subsection B. The clause shall be included in all future contracts for the procurement of information technology by, or for the use of, entities covered by this chapter on or after the effective date of this chapter.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 2.2-3503
- Access: means the ability to receive, use, and manipulate data and operate controls included in information technology. See Virginia Code 2.2-3501
- Covered entity: means all state agencies, public institutions of higher education, and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 2.2-3501
- Information technology: means all electronic information processing hardware and software, including telecommunications. See Virginia Code 2.2-3501
- Nonvisual: means synthesized speech, Braille, and other output methods not requiring sight. See Virginia Code 2.2-3501
- Telecommunications: means the transmission of information, images, pictures, voice, or data by radio, video, or other electronic or impulse means, but does not include public broadcasting. See Virginia Code 2.2-3501
B. At a minimum, the nonvisual access standards shall include the following: (i) the effective, interactive control and use of the technology (including the operating system), applications programs, and format of the data presented, shall be readily achievable by nonvisual means; (ii) the technology equipped for nonvisual access shall be compatible with information technology used by other individuals with whom the blind or visually impaired individual interacts; (iii) nonvisual access technology shall be integrated into networks used to share communications among employees, program participants, and the public; and (iv) the technology for nonvisual access shall have the capability of providing equivalent access by nonvisual means to telecommunications or other interconnected network services used by persons who are not blind or visually impaired. A covered entity may stipulate additional specifications in any procurement.
Compliance with the nonvisual access standards shall not be required if the head of a covered entity determines that (a) the information technology is not available with nonvisual access because the essential elements of the information technology are visual and (b) nonvisual equivalence is not available.