What are the timelines for implementing the Standards?
The Commonwealths Standards echo the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Since this legislation has been in place for a number of years, most sites are hopefully already close to compliance. A reasonable plan for reaching compliance required by the Accessibility Standard is due within six months of the November 4, 2005, effective date of the Standard that is, May 4, 2006. Since there is no specific accessibility implementation deadline, you will follow your plan for implementation; nevertheless, implementation of the requirements should be a priority and your plan will become the implementation timeline and its dates de-facto deadlines. The Website Standard implementation is different. Your implementation plan is due within three months of the November 4, 2005 effective date of the Standard that is, February 4, 2006. Compliance on look and feel is due within one year of the November 4, 2005 effective date of the Standard that is November 4, 2006.
