What You Need to Know About Web Accessibility

What is web accessibility and why is it important?
Simply put, web accessibility means that a particular website has taken steps so that individuals with disabilities can effectively use that site. Effective use is defined as the ability to perceive, understand, navigate, interact, and contribute to a website. In addition, all disabilities that could affect access to that website have been considered, such as visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.

The web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is essential that websites be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible website can also help people with disabilities more actively participate in society, as the web offers the possibility of unprecedented access to information and interaction for many of these individuals. As for numbers, according to the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, an estimated 48.9 million Americans have a permanent disability. While web accessibility is primarily developed for disabled individuals, it also provides benefits for individuals without permanent disabilities. A key principle of web accessibility is to design websites that are flexible enough to meet different user needs, preferences, and situations. Many Americans experience temporary disabilities as a result of injuries throughout their lifetimes and all of us will experience changing abilities due to aging. Currently, many websites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for these individuals to effectively use the web.

Are SOS offices required to produce accessible websites?
It is highly likely that your websites need to be accessible. There are always exceptions to the rule, but most state agencies must adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Websites are covered under that act. Unless a particular office is able to claim an undue burden or receive a waiver from the state agency that enforces your state’s specific accessibility policy, your websites must be accessible.

The Conference will feature speakers from the World Bank Group, a seminar on how to use Web tools to promote communication and collaboration, and a panel to discuss strategies for dealing with economic difficulties.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires State and local governments and places of public accommodation to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the program or service or in an undue burden. 28 C.F.R. S 36.303; 28 C.F.R. S 35.160. Auxiliary aids include taped texts, Brailled materials, large print materials, and other methods of making visually delivered material available to people with visual impairments.

Covered entities under the ADA are required to provide effective communication, regardless of whether they generally communicate through print media, audio media, or computerized media such as the Internet. Covered entities that use the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods, or services must be prepared to offer those communications through accessible means as well.
‐‐ From an opinion issued by the United States Department of Justice .

As such, every state in the nation has adopted some set of accessible web design laws or policies. While every state is unique, there are two accessibility standards that are popular and specifically mentioned by the ADA in their resource materials: the Section 508 standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

What is Section 508?
Section 508 refers to a statutory section in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It details a set of standards for the development, procurement, maintenance, and use of electronic and information technology (EIT) by Federal agencies. The primary goal of Section 508 is to ensure that Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of EIT that is comparable to that provided to other employees. It also covers members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or services from a Federal agency. Comparable access is not required if it would impose an “undue burden” on the agency.

It is important to note that Section 508 is a Federal law. It only applies to agencies of the Federal government. By itself, Section 508 does not apply to state governments. However, it is possible that a state may receive grant money from the federal government that is conditional on 508 compliance.

Even though Section 508 does not directly apply to state agencies, it is still useful as a standard. Websites that are 508 conformant have many accessibility features built in that make them useful and usable by individuals with disabilities. Following the Section 508 standards is one way to meet the ADA requirements.

For more information on Section 508, check out: http://www.section508.gov/

What is WCAG?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is a different set of accessibility standards developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), an independent working group specifically devoted to developing international standards for accessibility. These guidelines help web designers make websites as accessible as possible to the widest range of users, including individuals with disabilities. The WAI is a subgroup of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) — the same organization that standardizes the programming language followed by all web developers.

One thing that is different about the WCAG standards is that there are multiple versions and levels. As such, it is important to reference the standard by number and level when discussing it. WCAG 2.0 is the most recent version of the standard, published in November of 2008. It succeeds WCAG 1.0, which was published in May of 1999.

WCAG 2.0 and 1.0 consist of guidelines that are then broken down into specific rules. In WCAG 1.0 these rules are called checkpoints. In WCAG 2.0 the rules are called success criteria. Each rule corresponds to a specific level of conformance – Priority I, II, and III. Also referred to as A, AA, and AAA. A rule labeled priority I or A has a recommendation level of “must”. A rule labeled priority II or AA has a recommendation level of “should”. A rule labeled priority II or AAA has a recommendation level of “may”. Thus, the specific standard is referenced as “WCAG 1.0 Level AA” or “WCAG 2.0 Level A”, for example.

Although it is possible to conform either to WCAG 1.0 or to WCAG 2.0 (or both), the W3C recommends that new and updated content use WCAG 2.0. The W3C also recommends that web accessibility policies reference WCAG 2.0. Following either the 1.0 or 2.0 standards is another way to meet the ADA requirements.

For more information on the WCAG, check out: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

Kiana Dezelon
User Experience Designer
kdezelon@ccis‐inc.com

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