When a procurement involves UVA Procurement Services issuing an RFP, standard language is included in the solicitation.

When a procurement does not involve an RFP, but involves a simple Purchase Order (PO) or a “vendor supplied agreement”, there is clear reference in our terms and conditions that the PO or agreement is “governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and any vendor, supplier, contractor, or firm (as such terms may be used) providing the goods or services to the University assures the Commonwealth it is conforming with the provisions found in applicable Virginia law.”

Below is the clause found in the mandatory/general provisions of an RFP. There is a strongly recommended accessibility provision found in the contractual boilerplate:

Information Technology Access

All electronic and information technology procured through this agreement must meet the applicable accessibility standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) as amended, and is viewable at http://www.section508.gov. Additionally, in accordance with § 2.2-3500 et seq of the Code of Virginia, the following will apply to all information technology Agreements:

NON-VISUAL ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY: All information technology (the "Technology") which is purchased or upgraded by the University will comply with the following non-visual access standards from the date of purchase or upgrade until the expiration of this Agreement:

• Effective, interactive control and use of the Technology will be readily achievable by non-visual means;
• Technology equipped for non-visual access will be compatible with information technology used by other individuals with whom any blind or visually impaired user of the Technology interacts;
• Non-visual access technology will be integrated into any networks used to share communications among employees, program participants or the public; and
• Technology for non-visual access will have the capability of providing equivalent access by non-visual means to telecommunications or other interconnected network services used by persons who are not blind or visually impaired.

Compliance with the foregoing non-visual access standards will not be required if the University of Virginia determines that: (1) the Technology is not available with non-visual access because the essential elements of the Technology are visual; and (2) non-visual equivalence is not available. The foregoing determination should include, at a minimum, consultation with the Director of Procurement, UVA’s Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights/ADA Coordinator, UVA’s IT Department, and others as determined necessary and appropriate.

Installation of hardware, software, or peripheral devices used for non-visual access is not required when the Technology is being used exclusively by individuals who are not blind or visually impaired, but applications programs and underlying operating systems (including the format of the data) used for the manipulation and presentation of information will permit the installation and effective use of non-visual access software and peripheral devices.

In addition to the above, there is a strongly recommended provision found in the contractual boilerplate:

Accessibility

Selected Firm warrants and represents that all Goods and/or Services provided hereunder will be in accordance with University’s Policy IRM-008: University Information Technology Accessibility requiring compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 / Level A-AA or Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Selected Firm will monitor and maintain compliance with the Policy and referenced standards throughout the term of Agreement. Before any system launches, and at each major version change, Selected Firm will provide verification of standards conformance by submitting an Accessibility Conformance Report for all products/modules under consideration, completed as a self-assessment by a subject matter expert with a background in accessibility evaluation or by a third party jointly chosen by Selected Firm and the University.