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To ensure compliance with Section 508, and to ensure that Web sites are accessible to all users, regardless of bandwidth, browser, or disability, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a working group of the World Wide Web Consortium, develops standards and techniques to assist content developers, authoring tools, and Web browsers. WAI has established broad guidelines and checkpoints to aid developers as they maintain or create Web sites and systems. Guidelines and checkpoints are assigned a priority level based on a set schema, with the Priority 1 guideline as the minimum standard for achieving accessibility.
Our internal compliance standards are designed to address disabilities that can affect computer use, including deafness, blindness, paralysis, convulsive disorders, developmental disabilities, and mental illnesses. We are proud to note that we began testing our systems for accessibility before the formal release of the guidelines in 2000.
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