Bryan Moffitt ADA Specialist Schools Insurance Authority April 25, 2018

Transcription

1 Bryan Moffitt ADA Specialist Schools Insurance Authority April 25, 2018

2 So.Where are you on Web Access Edumeter? 1. Completely new to me..how can a website be accessible? 2. Familiar with general concepts of web accessibility but not the details 3. Working on updating our site.heard about recent legal activity and want to learn what we should be doing 4. Deep in the woods..our members have already received an OCR or other complaint letter.

3 Presentation Overview Legal and Regulatory Review and Timeline Review of U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights complaints and other legal activity What is Website Accessibility and what do the Section 508 technical standards require? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Resources

4 Legal and Regulatory Review and Timeline Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Section No qualified individual with a disability can be excluded or denied benefits of a program or activity based on disability Applicable to programs and activities which receive Federal financial assistance (i.e., K-12 schools) No direct reference to information technology accessibility Americans with Disabilities Act State/local government entities (Title II) program accessibility regardless of program funding source Pre-dates mainstream usage of Internet No technical standards for website accessibility

5 Legal and Regulatory Review and Timeline Rehabilitation Act Amended 1998 Section 508 arrives Requires federal agencies to make electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to employees and members of public Applicable to development, procurement, maintenance or use of technology U.S. Access Board develops technical standards (Sections and ) 2001 Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) international organization that develops open guidelines and standards for the Web Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Developed parallel set of technical standards which became WCAG 1.0 WCAG Web oriented, specific to HTML. Used Checkpoint system for testing. Not incorporated into Section 508 requirement

6 Legal and Regulatory Review and Timeline California state agencies/entities adopt Section 508 standards 2003 U.S. Dept. of Justice publishes Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities Establishing websites as a program, service, activity with Section 504 and ADA Title II applicability, begins incorporating into DOJ settlement agreements 2003 WCAG Version Applies to broader and different types of web technologies (technology agnostic) More precisely testable with level A, AA and AAA Success Criteria, harmonizes to international web content accessibility standards Revised ADA Title II and III rules/regulations 2010 Continued program accessibility requirements but no web accessibility technical standards included in updated rules

7 Legal and Regulatory Review and Timeline Section 508 Refresh 2010 to 2017 WCAG 2.0 guidelines proposed to be incorporated into Section 508 (U.S. Access Board Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) December 2011 Final Rule published January 2017, effective January 2018 What is Information and Communications technology? - Computer hardware and software, ancillary equipment, telecommunications products (such as phones), information kiosks, transaction machines and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines. Recent California laws 2017 AB 434 (Chapter 780) Signed October 2017 State agencies/entities required to ensure conformance with WCAG 2.0 Level AA, or a subsequent version, and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and post notice of website accessibility certification on home page.

8 Web Accessibility Litigation: General Early litigation and settlement agreements Initial cases as early as 2000 (AOL) Corporate cases (Amazon, Target, Ticketmaster, Netflix) mid 2000 s and on Colleges and universities (e.g., Cal Berkeley, Harvard, MIT) 2010 s and on U.S. DOJ Project Civic Access and Title II state and local government cases

9 Web Accessibility Litigation: K-12 Schools Nightingale v. Seattle Public Schools (2015) First significant K-12 school district web accessibility lawsuit Facts of case: Mother of three with blindness, district changed from generally accessible program education and administration software to inaccessible software After two years of complaints, lawsuit filed Consent decree Estimated costs between $650K and $850K

10 U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights Web Accessibility Complaints Disabled community advocacy recent emphasis on educational organization website accessibility Michigan advocate Filed over 2200 web accessibility complaint cases since January 2016 (Chicago Tribune February 2018) Initial focus: National larger school districts, COE s, State Boards. Colleges and small to mid-size school districts now at greater risk Automated evaluation tools used to assess websites 30 minutes to review and file a complaint Typically no advance notice of complaint

11 U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights Web Accessibility Complaints OCR Resolution Letter Contents and required actions Alleged violation of program accessibility and effective communications provisions of Rehabilitation Act Section 504 and ADA Title II based on inaccessibility of specific web pages OCR launching investigation Request for information on policies/procedures, vendors, written documentation, responsible staff within 15 days Case resolution offered through Voluntary Resolution Agreement (Case Processing Manual Section 302)

12 U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights Web Accessibility Complaints OCR Resolution Agreement Contents and required actions Develop Corrective Action Plan for existing online content and functionality - procedures for testing, verification and accountability of third-party vendor provided and internal content Develop policies and procedures for new online content/functionality Post public Accessibility Statement notice to facilitate website user request to update nonaccessible content or features Identify qualified third-party auditor and perform audit of all content and functionality on the School s website including intranet pages. Set up web accessibility training to all appropriate personnel responsible for developing, loading and maintaining content and functionality. Ongoing regular progress reporting to OCR

13 U.S. Depts. of Education and Justice Web Accessibility Complaints Recent developments under the new Administration Reduced staffing and funding, scaled back investigations into civil rights violations U.S. Dept. of Justice withdrew proposed rulemaking for website accessibility technical guidance provisions within ADA Title II in December 2017 Revised OCR Case Processing Manual March 2018 Complaints continue to be filed

14 What is Website Accessibility? Web accessibility - the design, development, editing and maintenance of websites which allows users with disabilities equivalent access to information content and functionality. (not a legal definition) Key practical features: Usable by screen reader and other assistive technologies (Can you turn off your screen and still effectively navigate and use all features of your website?) Keyboard functionality (Can you take away your mouse and still effectively navigate and use your website?) Easily understandable content and formatting (Is your website understandable to an average 9 th grader?)

15 Who is Impacted by Website Accessibility? 8.5% of the population has a disability that affects computer use (not including learning/cognitive or color blindness) 323,000,000 x = 27,455,000 people 57 million people with disabilities in U.S. (19%), 8% are children under age 15 57,000,000 x 0.08 = 4,560,000 children/early teens Major Categories of Disability Types Visual (blindness, low vision, color blindness) Hearing (deaf and hard of hearing) Motor (inability to use mouse, limited fine motor control) Cognitive (learning disability, inability to focus on large amounts of information) (Source: U.S. Census Bureau and WebAIM)

16 Refreshed Section 508 Technical Standards Key Changes Information and Communication Technology (ICT) instead of Electronic Information technology (EIT) Focus on accessible content and functionality principles not technology type ( platform agnostic ) WCAG 2.0 incorporated by reference Success Criteria now the enforceable standard (effective January 2018) 10 of the 12 general categories of accessible websites technical criteria are same as previous Section 508 (Section technical standards)

17 Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Core Principles Perceivable Available to user s senses either through browser or assistive technologies Operable Allows user interaction with all controls and interactive elements using a mouse, keyboard or assistive device Understandable Clear, concise content Robust Allows for a wide range of technologies

18 WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria Three levels A (easy), AA (harder) and AAA (hardest) Section 508 legal requirement to meet A and AA criteria WCAG 2.0 more defined/testable for pass or fail (allows usage as a legal standard rather than a non-binding guideline) Website is considered conformant at the lowest level consistently met for all content and functionality Conforming alternate versions may be also allowable from the web page.

19 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Multimedia accessibility Captioning Closed captioning (CC) required for all AV content regardless of content producer Do not use auto-generated YouTube captioning not reliably accurate Text Transcripts and Audio Description Text Transcript Verbatim transcript provided as link or embedded document works for talking head videos. Descriptive Text Transcript - Full text transcript with additional comments to describe relevant visual only action content more like a screenplay Audio Description Separate sound track with commentary on visual information not described or spoken in main sound track (Level AA). Generally, one of these options in addition to captioning

20 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Multimedia accessibility Captioning Closed captioning (CC) required for all AV content regardless of content producer Do not use auto-generated YouTube captioning not reliably accurate Text Transcripts and Audio Description Text Transcript Verbatim transcript provided as link or embedded document works for talking head videos. Descriptive Text Transcript - Full text transcript with additional comments to describe relevant visual only action content more like a screenplay Audio Description Separate sound track with commentary on visual information not described or spoken in main sound track (Level AA). Generally, one of these options in addition to captioning

21 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Multimedia accessibility Captioning Closed captioning (CC) required for all AV content regardless of content producer Do not use auto-generated YouTube captioning not reliably accurate Text Transcripts and Audio Description Text Transcript Verbatim transcript provided as link or embedded document works for talking head videos. Descriptive Text Transcript - Full text transcript with additional comments to describe relevant visual only action content more like a screenplay Audio Description Separate sound track with commentary on visual information not described or spoken in main sound track (Level AA). Generally, one of these options in addition to captioning

22 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Alternative text text alternative to non-text content Embedded text read by screen readers in place of image Check by moving cursor over image or right click Inspect to review HTML code. Look for alt= This is the alt text for this image Image - not exclusively photos, any content that is an not text-based non true-text logos, symbols. Learn the Rules - Easy to do, more challenging to implement correctly Equivalent presentation of content and function of image Context is important Succinct, not redundant of information already provided Avoid Image of or Graphic of language Okay to add null alt= for decorative images when appropriate, but don t skip altogether Not always one right answer for alt text language

23 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Appropriate color contrast Sufficient contrast between text and background colors Larger number of people with visual impairment than blindness Specific contrast ratios 4.5:1 for normal text, large text 3:1 (18 point or larger, 14 point bolded or larger) WebAIM Color Contrast Checker and Colorzilla Google Chrome plug-in tools to evaluate color contrast Good general website design - beneficial for all users Recommend avoiding placing text on background photos or images Most colors can still be effectively incorporated into website Slight shade adjustments often lead to compliance relatively easy implementation across entire website Use color as supplemental but not sole means of conveying website information Red/green and blue-purple most common forms of color blindness

24 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Visually Evident Meaningful and recognizable link text Website links must make sense out of context Screen readers can search by link and other features of web page Avoid Click here, More, here and similar non-descript link names Avoid using long gibberish URL s as link name Links should be underlined and have a distinct look from other content do not use color only to identify links Image only as link must have alt text which acts as link text. Screen reader will read Link to..

25 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Not Visually Evident Logical heading structure and reading order Web designers must create structural outline to each web page Use headers <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc. Fundamental misunderstanding Headers used to achieve visual results only (<h1> largest size paragraph font, <h4> smaller sized paragraph) Headings most common method for advanced screen reader users through a web page Heading structure facilitates accurate screen reader software reading order

26 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Not Visually Evident Skip Navigation/Skip to Main Content link (may or may not be visible) Link allows the website user to avoid hearing web page header info (corporate icons, site searches, navigation links) at the top of every web page Beneficial to blind/vi users and keyboard users First link on page in top left-hand corner Typically one per page but may be more if multiple sections of repeated blocks of text within web page

27 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Not Visually Evident Forms and Tables Most challenging aspect of web accessibility, least familiar to most web design/developers Applicable to any kind of online form (parent forms, free lunch forms, program registrations, etc.) Accessibility problems only become apparent with screen reader or keyboard usage Unless programmed correctly, some forms can be difficult or impossible to fill out Ensure forms are logical, intuitive and easy to use Checkboxes, radio buttons, select menus Specific programming required to meet WCAG 2.0 standards

28 Key Elements of Section 508 Conformant Website Not Visually Evident Document accessibility Word, PDF s, PowerPoint and Excel documents on website ( public facing with exceptions) PDF s most challenging but required for all MS Office type documents Heading structure, alt text for images, tables, links most common issues Currently, not intuitive process, technically challenging Software companies beginning to address this issues (e.g. MS Office 365)

29 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Where are we now? Be honest.has your organization paid attention to and implemented previous Section 508 requirements? Perception v. Reality As always, commitment from the top Designate a Web Access coordinator or point person Mostly under the hood, but some website design changes may be necessary Web access is a continuum not a destination it won t happen overnight

30 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Evaluate your organization s web designer You don t need to become an expert..but you do need to hire one Internal staff v. outside vendor gauge level of awareness and understanding of updated standards (read WCAG 2.0) Content Management Systems (CMS) are not a panacea Web access consultant may be a consideration

31 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Perform preliminary evaluation of your website Comprehensive evaluation requires automated tools and manual testing Many free automated tools available for easy testing (e.g., WAVE, Color Contrast Checker, Colorzilla, SiteImprove, etc.) Test against WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA for compliance Interpretation is critical not simple Compliant or Non-compliant results Fix the easy stuff (adding alt text, appropriate color contrast)

32 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Contract for third-party evaluation of your website Hire a reputable web access consultant for independent audit Consultant categories: Full Service systems, Advocacy oriented, Non-profits Typical initial evaluation - 20 selected representative web pages (extrapolate to rest of the website) Certification to a pre-determined standard (Section 508/WCAG A and AA) typically dated stamped

33 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards First Phase: Focus on Structural and high priority issues Audit findings will identify by severity of impact on accessibility (e.g., Severity 1 to 4) Implement design practices for short-term fixes and long-term conformance Consider accessible user experience as well as legal conformance High priority Non-accessible elements which totally deny access or make extremely difficult Examples: No closed captioning in multimedia, lack of semantic structure to facilitate screen reader usage, lack of keyboard functionality) Multiple audit evaluations likely for certification

34 Okay, Now What? Next Steps to Conformance with Section 508 Standards Second Phase: Document accessibility Easy first step: Never post an PDF image on your website (run OCR for minimum content usage by screen reader) Evaluate document volume Determine method of remediation (DIY or hire outside document remediation firm) Long term: Implement policies and procedures for website document posting, staff training to create accessible documents, etc. Software companies (i.e., Microsoft) improving tools to make process more intuitive

35 Section 508/WCAG Conformance Resources U.S. Access Board About the Section 508 Standards board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section- 508-standards World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview Great Lakes ADA Center Accessibility Online: Accessible Technology webinar series - WebAIM - Introduction to Web Accessibility U.S. General Services Revised Section 508 Standards Refresh Toolkit

36 Questions?