Electronic and Information Technology (EIT)
Fields: Accessibility, Law · Also called: EIT
Electronic and information technology (EIT) is the term Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d) uses for the technology that federal agencies must make accessible to people with disabilities. The U.S. Access Board’s current standards implementing Section 508 use the term information and communication technology (ICT).
Section 508 states its core requirement in terms of EIT:
When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each Federal department or agency, including the United States Postal Service, shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency, that the electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology—
The provision goes on to require access for federal employees and members of the public with disabilities that is comparable to the access available to others. Rather than define EIT itself, the statute directs the Access Board to adopt “a definition of electronic and information technology that is consistent with the definition of information technology specified in section 11101(6) of title 40.” The Access Board’s standards are published as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines, so Section 508 compliance involves both terms, with EIT in the statute and ICT in the standards that implement it. See ICT.
Sources
- 29 U.S. Code § 794d, Electronic and information technology, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines (Revised Section 508 Standards), U.S. Access Board. Retrieved September 28, 2026.