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What are the laws concerning accessible electronic content?
According to the website www.section508.gov, federal agencies are required to provide accessibility in all electronic and information technology to people with disabilities. This requirement is the 1998 amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Not only was the amendment created to assist those with disabilities, but it was also created to stimulate the production of accessible technology.
In order for colleges to follow the electronic content laws, certain colleges have enacted initiatives to meet guidelines set by the federal government. The California State University system, for example, has created the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI), which will address web accessibility, instructional materials accessibility, and the procurement of accessible electronic and informational technology products. ATI was launched in January of 2006 and is planned for a 3-year phase-in of integration (http://www.calstate.edu/AcadAff/CodedMemos/AA-2006-41.pdf)
Aside from Section 508, there is also Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which protects children with disabilities (Day and Huefner, 2003), especially those who do not fall under the guildelines of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under Section 504, school districts are required to provide students with disabilities access to any of their educational needs. Furthermore, if any educational activity requires Assistive Technology, then the school district must provide it. Hence, as electronic content is used more and more in education, the content must be accessible to students with disabilities.
Who are the Affected Individuals?
About 20% of the population has some type of disability. Individuals who would benefit from accessible electronic content laws can have any of the following disabilities (http://www.webaim.org/intro/#people):
1. Visual Impairment-from a varying degree of blindness to color-blindness and low vision.
2. Hearing Impairment-deafness
3. Motor-impaired ability to operate mouse or keypad, limited fine motor control, and slow response
abilities.
4. Cognitive-resulting from learning disabilities; difficulty focusing or recalling large amounts of information;
easily distractable.
The following video offers a firsthand account of the significance of accessible content:
According to the Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA), to meet compliance standards with making web technology accessible, many colleges and universities now follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (http://www.catea.gatech.edu/grade/guides/introduction.php).
The guidelines, however, do not provide standards for "second generation" documents such as Word documents, Powerpoint, or Excel sheets. Therefore, the Georgia Tech Research on Accessible Distance Education (GRADE) has developed a set of standards for "second generation" electronic and information technology. The table below is a summary of their guidelines from the CATEA website :
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Give an expanded version with first occurrence; this is a basic style recommendation. Examples: APA "American Psychriatric Association" style guide; Office of Human Resources "OHR" employment form. Set software to auto expand if possible.
Animations
Give alternative text or description that is concise and meaningful. Avoid flashing images or repetitive animations th at never stop.
Animation should not cycle more than 3 times and there should be a stop control.
Backgrounds
Avoid busy or distracting backgrounds. Backgrounds are more common in Powerpoint and you should provide alternate templates or document versions without backgrounds.
Chunking
Divide large blocks of information into more manageable chunks. For Powerpoint and Flash keep information equal from screen to screen.
Closed Captions
With the ability to embed or link to video and audio or use animations and applets almost anywhere, be sure to:
Use synchronized closed captions for audio and video or timed material
Include a text description
Provide a full text script.
You will need special software and most likely assistance to accomplish these goals.
Colors
Use contrast and avoid combinations such as red/green or blue/yellow. Color must never be the primary or only way to convey meaning. Example: do not say, click the red button. Print in black and white to be certain your contrasts are sufficient.
Contrast
Use large contrast between foregrounds and backgrounds. View and print in black and white to make certain the contrast is strong enough.
Converting other file types
Use latest versions available. Note in the document if a particular version is necessary to read or open the document. this is most common on the web.
Converting to Web
Always put documents in at least two (2) formats. Giving several versions (Word, HTML, PDF and plain text) can cover most needs.
MS Word and Excel's save as HTML feature is functional but not perfect.
PDF is considered "web-ready." However, providing alternate versions is a good idea.
PowerPoint: Do not use "Save as HTML." Consider creating a hand-coded html version. Copy the images and text into Dreamweaver, frontpage etc. Create a custom template to save as jpg.
Make video available in the common formats: MOV, AVI, ASF, WMV, RM, MPG. Formats that allow for rate adaption during viewing are ideal. Use SMIL or other programs to make video with text more accessible. Try to keep frame rates between 15-30 frames/second.
Data Tables
Provide an alternative text or description. Tables should be tagged correctly.
In Word: Use percents rather than fixed numbers for column width. In Excel: Identify and highlight row and column headers.
Use titles for rows and columns that are grouped.
Design
Be consistent throughout, use the same fonts, styles, margins, headers, and footers.
Add invisible (white on white) notes about text or reading flow.
Create a logical tab order for your documents.
File Size
Keep file sizes as small as possible. Obviously, a smaller file size yields a faster delivery. Be especially cautious with PowerPoint and PDF documents, which are prone to becoming very large. Remember video and audio compression are tools available for your use.
Fonts
Use Serif for printed documents.
Use Sans-Serif for electronic documents.
Font Size
Use 12 point but allow zoom.
In HTML use CSS and/or relative sizing versus absolute size.
Form Fields
Provide a short description for every element. Keep input elements close to their lables.
For Example: __________ (phone #).
Form elements are common in PDF, web, and Word documents, but less common in PowerPoint and Excel.
Allow sufficient space between elements.
If possible, allow audio input into form fields.
Graphs
Provide an alternative text or description. In some cases, a long description may be necessary. Use a hyperlink (for the web) or make it a part of the caption to ensure it stays with the graph.
Hyperlink Text
Hyperlinks are common in most document types. Make the wording meaningful out of context.
Some reading software pick out hyperlinks alone for faster navigation, so text like "click here" becomes meaningless. Links must not be hidden behind other elements
Do not put links in a series, or put spaces and/or other text between them. Use seperate lines.
Group related links with a label.
Provide a link to the top of the page.
Here is some really interesting information regarding web accessibility taken from the Access Technology Higher Education Network website (ATHEN):
Web Accessibility
As higher education moves traditional over-the-counter services to web-based applications, it has become even more critical that web content be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Whether the web-based content is course registration, financial aid, library services, online courses or any program or activity of higher education, it is now established in law that entities covered under ADA Title II and/or Section 504 must have accessible web sites.
In Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Authority (MARTA), six plaintiffs filed an ADA Title II complaint in 2001 outlining a long list of ADA violations including the problem that the agency failed to make information accessible to people with disabilities on their web site. Three plaintiffs were blind, one had cerebral palsy and required a wheelchair for mobility and two plaintiffs were quadriplegics who required wheelchairs for mobility. The Federal District Court in Georgia found that the website was not accessible and violated the ADA. This is significant for higher education entities covered under Title II of the ADA because MARTA is the first case to hold that ADA Title II entities must have accessible web sites (read the decision at http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/documents/1001cv3255TWTinj.pdf [PDF]).
We also now have guidance published in 2003 from the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section, entitled Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/websites2.htm. The guidance reminds us that entities covered under the ADA and Section 504 are required to "provide qualified individuals with disabilities equal access to their programs, services, or activities unless doing so would fundamentally alter the nature of their programs, services, or activities or would impose an undue burden."
This equal access obligation concerning website content applies to higher education ADA Title II entities and is consistent with a previous policy letter by USDOJ in 1996. In that instance, the USDOJ responded to an inquiry from Senator Harkin about websites on behalf of a web designer and lawyer. See policy letter at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/foia/tal712.txt.
Even if the higher education entity is not covered under ADA Title II, it is most likely covered under the Section 504 requirements for accessible websites. The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), enforces regulations implementing Section 504 in addition to its enforcement of ADA Title II in public colleges, universities and graduate and professional schools. The U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly stated through complaint resolution agreements and correspondence that higher education institutions covered by the ADA and Section 504 must make their information accessible on the Internet since communications must be as effective for students with disabilities as that provided to others (see OCR RESOLUTION 09-05-2206 at http://www.icdri.org/legal/sjsu.htm).
REFERENCES:
Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University (2009). Constructing a POUR Website. Retrieved
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Comments (3)
sallyng@csupomona.edu said
at 7:47 pm on May 13, 2009
Thanks, Candace! As you can see, I'm still working on adding my content.
imjustcan04 said
at 8:52 am on May 20, 2009
Not a problem at all...thank you!!
byungkim@csupomona.edu said
at 9:12 am on May 21, 2009
everything seems fine to me~!
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