Web Accessibility: What is it and How do we get it? Copyright Donna Hamilton, This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

Define Accessibility Accessible adj. –capable of being reached –capable of being used, seen, or known –Obtainable

Accessibility “An information technology system is accessible to people with disabilities if it can be used in a variety of ways that do not depend on a single sense or ability.” -- the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board)

In the beginning… Section 504 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of Establishes that disability rights are a form of civil rights and therefore covered by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Section 504 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, continued 2. Mandates that institutions receiving federal funds provide equal access to their programs. 3. Uses total institutional budget (not just the computing area's budget) in measuring the "reasonableness" of required accommodations for accessibility.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of Extends the requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to all public and commercial facilities, with few exceptions, not just those that receive federal funding. 2. Requires that every institution receiving federal funds establish and maintain a plan of compliance.

Statement about ADA The Department of Justice stated that the ADA will cover government entities on the Internet as well as those providers whose services are deemed to be “public accommodations.” *

Amendment to Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of States that federal agencies must ensure Web sites are accessible to employees and the public to the extent it doesn't pose an "undue burden" to the site owner. 2. Provides accessibility standards, developed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), for the Web and many other areas of electronic and information technology.

Amendment to Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of Standards for Web pages were published Dec. 21, Enforcement date was set at June 21, board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm board.gov/sec508/guide/ htm

Lawsuits & Complaints Complaints are being settled out of court in favor of the disabled community using the ADA. –Connecticut Attorney General's Office –Bank of America –America Online

Statistics on Disabilities 1.20% of all U.S. citizens have some kind of disability. 2.1 in 2 Americans 65 and older has a disability. 3.Nearly 30% of all families in the U.S. are affected by a member who has a disability.

Statistics, continued Disabilities include the following areas: 1)Low or Limited Vision 2)No Vision 3)Color Blind 4)Deaf or hearing impaired 5)Physical and motor impairments 6)Cognitive or Neurological

Statistics, continued People with disabilities boast a population of 54 million and have a discretionary income of more than $175 billion – that’s nearly twice the buying power of the teen market. President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, Aug. 2000

And now … Close your eyes and “listen” to a Web page, as many of your customers do.

Other Reasons for Accessibility Win/Win situation – all users benefit from a well-organized Web site PDAs and WAP – Accessible pages more easily convert to alternate platforms

How Do We Get It? Follow accessibility standards /guide/ htm Test your pages – a list of services and software is available at: resources.html

How Did We Do It? Created a committee that: Developed guidelines for accessibility on WSU campus; Created and implemented a plan for compliance; Created and implemented a plan for education.

How Did We Do It? Created an online “master” checklist to test pages for accessibility and policy guidelines. audit/ audit/

How Did We Do It? Remember! You can’t tell that a Web page is accessible just by looking at it in your browser. Look at the source code!

The Committee Included the university Web Administrator as well as a member from the following departments: Campus Computing (CaTS) Center for Teaching & Learning (faculty) Disability Services University Libraries

Created Guidelines and Examples Initially created guidelines taken from our own expertise/research as well other sources, including W3C. Changed to standards created by the Access Board as part of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Created Guidelines and Examples, continued Added examples of how to incorporate the standards into your Web site ( board.gov/sec508/508stand ards.htm) board.gov/sec508/508stand ards.htm

Created Guidelines and Examples, continued Provided additional WSU Web Accessibility guidelines ( cess/guidelines.html) to cover WSU-specific items and additional helpful hints. cess/guidelines.html

Created Guidelines and Examples, continued Standards & guidelines cover: Images Multimedia Tables Links Forms Design & Layout More

Education Incorporated accessibility into existing HTML classes. Created a new class devoted entirely to Web accessibility issues. Offered drop-in days where people could stop by a computer lab and get one-on- one help.

Education, continued Provided easy to follow guidelines and examples. Provided information about laws, issues and resources regarding disabilities.

Accountability Access to Web servers is contingent on agreeing to adhere to standards. If problems found or reported, Web page publisher is notified and given two weeks to correct the problems.

Accountability, continued If problems aren't corrected, page(s) may be removed and Web page publisher’s access to server denied.

Keep Up To Date Read Research Ask Questions Share

Resources Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm Web Accessibility Standards standards_508.html standards_508.html WSU Web Accessibility Statement

Resources, continued WSU Web Accessibility Resources rces.html rces.html Web Accessibility Facts & Figures: Laws and Lawsuits html html Web Accessibility Facts & Figures: Statistics mation.html mation.html

Presenters: Michelle Frisque, Web Manager/Reference Librarian Donna Hamilton, WSU Web Site Administrator Jerry Hensley, Desktop Software Specialist Thank you and keep in touch!