The Whys and Hows of Digital Accessibility

David Fenley| MN Council on Disability

Jay Wyant | MN Office of Accessibility

Disability and Accessibility

David Fenley| ADA Director

What is Digital Accessibility

It includes all forms of electronic content: that’s documents, information systems, software and applications - not just the Web. In a fully accessible digital realm all this content works for all people, whatever their hardware, software, language, culture, location, or physical or mental ability.

Translation: Creates a technical system that is accessible to users with disabilities for digital items such as:

• Mobile Devices

• Digital Documents

• Website Pages

Digital Accessibility Benefits Everyone

• 1 in 4 people have a disability

• Good public relations

• Folks will find your site quicker and stay longer

• Increased usability

• Writing cleaner code = better user interfaces, fewer bugs, and faster loading times

• Avoiding punishment: legal enforcement, not wanting to get sued, and...bad press!!!

It's the Law: Americans with Disabilities Act

• Title II - Government must be accessible

• Access to programs, goods, and services for people with disabilities must be effective and meaningful

• This is equally true for access to electronic communication and info: timeliness, convenience, privacy, flexibility all point to the idea that there are few meaningful alternatives to electronic access

• With technology reaching into all areas of life digital access is increasingly viewed as a civil right.

• There are no specific requirements for digital accessibility currently in the ADA!

Courts, Lawsuits, the DOJ and the ADA

• Policy – have one and stick to it

• Most ADA settlements have included adhering to WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) Level A

• Section 508 Refresh - regulates accessible technologies and communication at the federal level (do you receive federal $$?)

• Have a plan to achieve accessibility

• Who is the point of contact

• H&R Block consent decree - don't be the low hanging fruit

How can the State Help

• We are from the government and we are here to help

• State Statutes

• 363A.42: Public Records; Accessibility - Human Rights Act

• 16E.03, Subd. 9: State Information and Communications Systems

• Cooperative Purchasing Venture (CPV)

• We have a process to buy accessible technology and services

• Use it and demand that it better serve your needs

• Use the state as an example but...do better

Introduction to Digital Accessibility (45 mins)

Jay Wyant | Chief Information Accessibility Officer

Questions for you

• Microsoft or Google?

• Website in-house or managed by third party?

• In-house app developers?

• Have you implemented 508 or WCAG 2.0 guidelines into any projects?

What would happen if…

You bought/built a product that was designed for people who were right-handed and had an opposable thumb?

How about…

Software that required the use of a mouse to complete key functions?

Quick Quiz

How do you differentiate between accessibility, accommodation, and assistive technology?

Vocabulary

• Accessibility

• Based on standards

• Measurable

• Describes how things are made (or other way to describe)

• An electronic curb cut – available to everyone

• Assistive technology: a technology (hardware or software) used by a specific individual to meet their specific needs

• Accommodation: assistance or change to an activity or work space that will enable the employee or student to perform the job or task despite having a disability

Basic guidelines for all content

• Content structure

• Properties/Title

• Headings & Styles (tags)

• Navigation: consistent, predictable, multimodal

• Images and non-text elements (machine-readable content)

• Color contrast

• Meaningful links

• Forms

The measure of accessibility: POUR

The four guiding principles of accessibility in WCAG 2.0 are:

• Perceivable

• Operable

• Understandable

• Robust

WCAG Quick Ref: use 2.0 levels A and AA

What does accessibility look like?

• Keyboard demo

• WAVE demo

• Color contrast demo

• Web form

• Document structure example

Common keyboard commands

• TAB and Shift+TAB

• Alt+TAB

• Spacebar and Enter keys to activate

• CTRL+W to close

Quick cards including shortcut keys

WebAIM’s Keyboard Testing Guide

How do you make it happen?

• Adopt a policy

• The State digital accessibility standard is a good reference point

• Synchronizes with state and federal laws

• Procurement requirements

• Leverage VPATs

• Consider Policy-Driven Adoption for Accessibility (PDAA)

• Development/content requirements

• Practices that reference the policy

Use the State as a resource

• Basic accessible document training• (Additional training coming soon)

• Lots of other resources on the Office of Accessibility website• Planning tools

• Map accessibility resources

• Quick cards

• …and more!

Subscribe to Office of Accessibility newsletter

Office of Accessibility newsletter

Text to # 468311: MNIT A11y

(You will receive our welcome message back.)

• Tips on digital accessibility

• Announcement of new resources

• Stories about current projects (all types)

• Upcoming events and trainings

Additional resources

• Cooperative Purchasing Venture (CPV)

• 16E.03

Thank You!

David FenleyDavid.Fenley@state.mn.us

651.361.7809

Jay WyantJay.Wyant@state.mn.us