IT Accessibility: Changes and Trends in Policy and Technology

Greg KrausUniversity IT Accessibility Coordinator

NC State University

Lawsuits & Complaints

•Arizona State University – Kindle

•Florida State University – Clickers and LMS

•Penn State University – Web sites and LMS

•NYU and Northwestern – Google Apps

Dear Colleague Letter

•Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights

•“We write to express concern on the part of the Department of Justice and the Department of Education that colleges and universities are using electronic book readers that are not accessible to students who are blind or have low vision and to seek your help in ensuring that this emerging technology is used in classroom settings in a manner that is permissible under federal law.”

FAQs on the DCL

•Does the DCL apply beyond electronic book readers to other forms of emerging technology? A: Yes. The core principles underlying the DCL — equal opportunity, equal treatment, and the obligation to make modifications to avoid disability-based discrimination — are part of the general nondiscrimination requirements of Section 504 and the ADA. Therefore, all school programs or activities — whether in a “brick and mortar,” online, or other “virtual” context — must be operated in a manner that complies with Federal disability discrimination laws.

Section 508

•Purchasing and development requirement for Federal entities, or entities receiving Federal money

•Released in 1998

•381 words long

Section 508 Refresh

•Harmonizes

•Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

•Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act

•WCAG 2.0 Level AA is (probably) the standard

•Won’t be implemented until next year at the earliest

WCAG 2.0

•Released in 2008

•14,000+ words in the standard

•300,000+ words of support documentation

Amendments to the ADA

•Changes cover Title III entities

•WCAG 2.0 Level AA is (probably) the standard

•Won’t be implemented until 2013 at the earliest

NC State ICT Accessibility Regulation

•Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

•Covers electronic content or interactions with individuals for administrative, instructional, or informational purposes

•Federal Access Board’s Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards

•Will support the consideration of using emerging technologies while advocating for their accessibility

•Widely Distributed vs. Access List Controlled

HTML and Accessibility Standards

1993

HTML Standards

Accessibility Standards

HTM

L 1

HTM

L 2

HTM

L 3

HTM

L 4

HTM

L 5

WC

AG

2

WC

AG

1

508

1995 1997 1999 2008

WCAG 2.0 - POUR

•Perceivable

•Operable

•Understandable

•Robust

The English Translation

•Perceivable

•Operable

•Understandable

•Robust

Can I “see” it?

Can I “touch” it?

Can I understand it?

Can I break it?

AccessibleU Demo

WAI – It’s Bigger Than Just WCAG

•ATAG (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines)

•ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

•Techniques

•http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Web Development – A Slide Through History

Slider – HTML 4

•<div tabindex="1" id="slider-1" class="horizontal dynamic-slider-control slider">   <input id="slider-input-1" class="slider-input"><div class="line" style="top: 11px; left: 15.5px; width: 1531px;"><div style="width: 1529px;"></div></div><div class="handle" style="left: 705.18px; top: 6.5px;"><div>&nbsp;</div></div></div>

•Plus hundreds of lines of JavaScript

Slider – ARIA

•<div id="sliderRail1" class="sliderRail floatLeft"><button id="sliderThumb1" class="sliderThumb" role="slider” aria-valuetext="46%" aria-valuenow="46" aria-valuemax="100" aria-valuemin="0" aria-labelledby="sliderLabel" style="left: 86px;"></button></div>

•Plus hundreds of lines of JavaScript

Slider – HTML 5

•<form> <input name="r" type="range" min="1" max="11" value="9"> <input type="submit" value="Go"></form>

•0 lines of JavaScript

Product May Not Work As Advertised

•HTML 5 Accessibility

•http://html5accessibility.com/

•HTML 5 Browser Compatibility

•http://html5test.com/

Reaching Out to Campus

•Be nosy

•Grow more eyes and ears

•Infiltrate other meetings

•Teach the right things to the right people

•Bring solutions, not problems

Is an Application Accessible?

•VPAT – Voluntary Product Accessibility Template

•Accessibility Testing

•Ask the Community

Testing For Web Accessibility

1. Can you use it without a mouse?

2. Have you divided up your content with headings?

3. Can you view a text-only version and understand it?

4. Do you have transcripts for any audio and video?

5. Do you use enough color contrast?

6. Do your pages have a consistent look-and-feel?

7. Do your images have appropriate text descriptions?

8. Does each form input have an appropriate label?

Accessibility Resources

•NC State IT Accessibility Blog

•NC State IT Access Site

•NC State ICT Accessibility Regulation

•WebAIM

•ATHEN - Access Technology Higher Education Network

•EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group