| (a) The department, in establishing commodity procurement contracts for state agencies and institutions of higher education, and in compliance with the State of Texas Accessibility requirements (based on the federal standards established under §508 of the Rehabilitation Act), shall require vendors make accessibility information available for every product under contract through one of the following methods: (1) the URL to a completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) (http://www.access-star.org/ITI-VPAT-v1.2.html); (2) the URL to the product accessibility information available from the General Services Administration "Buy Accessible Wizard" (http://www.buyaccessible.gov); (3) an electronic document that addresses the same accessibility criteria in substantively the same format as the VPAT (http://www.access-star.org/ITI-VPAT-v1.2.html); or (4) The URL to a Web page which explains how to request a completed VPAT for any product under contract. (b) Each state agency shall include in its accessibility policy standards and processes for making agency procurement decisions pursuant to §2054.453, Texas Government Code. (1) Unless an exception is approved by the executive director of the state agency pursuant to §2054.460, Texas Government Code, and §213.17 of this chapter, or unless an exemption is approved by the department, pursuant to §2054.460, Texas Government Code, and §213.17 of this chapter, all electronic and information resources products developed, procured or changed through a procured services contract, and all electronic and information resource services provided through hosted or managed services contracts, shall comply with the provisions of Chapter 206 and Chapter 213 of this title, as applicable. (2) Agencies may develop a procurement accessibility policy for making procurement decisions. Such policy must be approved by the executive director. In the absence of an approved procurement accessibility policy, the agencies shall use either the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) or the Buy Accessible Wizard to assess the degree of accessibility of a given product when making procurement decisions according to the agency's accessibility policy. (3) This subchapter applies to electronic and information resources developed, procured, or changed by an agency, or developed, procured, or changed by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product. (4) This subchapter does not apply to information technology that is acquired by a contractor or grantee incidental to a contract or grant, provided the technology does not become State property upon the completion of the contract. (5) Nothing in this subchapter is intended to prevent the use of designs or technologies as alternatives to those prescribed in this subchapter provided they result in substantially equivalent or greater access to and use of a product for people with disabilities. |
