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Accessibility Policy

Utah.gov
The Official Web Site of the State of Utah
Universal Access Design Standards

Policy

In response to the need to insure equal access to electronic and information technologies, the state of Utah has developed a set of standards for Web page design. Just as environmental obstacles have inhibited individuals with disabilities, the Web poses an entirely new set of obstacles. In recognition of those individuals with visual, physical or developmental disabilities, Utah.gov has adopted a policy to make government information accessible to all.

It has been estimated that 54 million people or 20.6 percent of all Americans have some level of disability. According to the Disability Statistics Center:

  • People with disabilities will work in greater numbers, in part because of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Between 1991 and 1994, the number of disabled Americans employed increased by more than 1.1 million, according to the Census Bureau. Employment rates for young adults with severe disabilities are triple that of their older counterparts.
  • Education rates for people with disabilities are increasing: 75 percent of them finished high school in 1994, up from 60% in 1986; their college enrollment leapt from 29 percent to 44 percent.
  • Technological advances are eliminating many of the physical and informational barriers that have long existed for people with disabilities.
  • Public awareness of disability issues is growing and changing.
  • America's population is aging, and disability increases with age. The number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase 135% between 1995 and 2050, according to the Census Bureau.

Instructions will be provided for individuals with disabilities, visual disabilities, and for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Design Standards

These standards are influenced by those recommended by the W3C and Access Board. The Access Board is responsible for developing the standards outlined by the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1998. Universal design calls for appropriate use of auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure communication.

Utah.Gov has adopted the Design of HTML Pages to increase accessibility to users with disabilities as the primary guideline to meet the objectives of the Universal Access for State Design policy. These published guidelines are maintained by professionals trained in the area of assistive and information technology.

Utah.Gov embraces these standards and will be evaluating its site on a regular basis, increasing the opportunity for all individuals to access information over the Internet. The Universal Access Design Standards are being integrated into Utah.Gov and will continue to evolve as new technologies and opportunities emerge.

  • The Official Web Site of the State of Utah will have a link to a page entitled "Access Instructions for Users with Disabilities." This page will include special instructions for accessing Web pages on Utah.Gov, including a phone number to contact for more information.
  • Every graphic image will have an "alt" tag and a short description that is intuitive to the user. If a graphic image is used as a navigation element, it will contain text description and direction that is intuitive to the user.
  • Every graphic image that uses an image map will provide alternative text of the hyperlink.
  • Photographs that contribute to the content of a page will include a long description or a "D" to denote an alternative description. A "return" link will be provided on the description page to return the user to the page of origin.
  • The Official Web Site of the State of Utah will have descriptive, intuitive text links and avoid the use of vague references such as "click," "here," "link," or "this."
  • An alternative form of access will be made available for online forms, such as an email address or phone number.
  • The use of frames will be avoided since they cannot be read intelligently by screen readers, create navigation problems, and are not supported by all browsers. Utah.Gov cannot be held responsible for sites outside the network that utilize frames.
  • Tables will include textual information displayed in a linear form across the table; additionally, cells will be named to aid as reference.
  • Background colors will be avoided since color schemes can create problems with legibility.
  • Multiple browser testing will be conducted on the current versions of Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, and Lynx.

Resources

THE LAW

The Section 508 Web Site is an excellent source for general information, standards, evaluation, events, and resources surrounding Section 508, which will impact electronic and information technology on the Web. http://www.section508.gov/

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The content of this document directly relates to the Federal government and any public or private industry contracting with the Federal government. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508law.html

Enforcing ADA compliance - The Department of Justice handles complaints and enforcement. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/enforce.htm

Title II, Section 508 speaks directly to state, local governments, and all other public entities. This highlights page provides a concise overview and abbreviated information on specific chapters that must comply with ADA standards and information about the complaint and enforcement process. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/t2hlt95.htm

ARTICLES

Applying the ADA to the Internet: A Web Accessibility Standard article by Cynthia D. Waddell, JD. She is the ADA Coordinator for the City of San Jose, CA and also a member of the W3C Web Accessibility. She is a leading authority on ADA issues and her articles are direct and easy to understand. http://www.rit.edu/~easi/law/weblaw1.htm

Barriers (and How to Remove Them) - A concise article that provides simple steps to removing access barriers on a Web site. http://www.zdnet.com/filters/printerfriendly/0,6061,1600181-84,00.html

Assessing the Usability of a User Interface Standard is an in depth essay directed to developers and how they use or don't use standards. http://www.useit.com/papers/standards.html

TOOLS

The Accessible Web Author's Toolkit contains a number of evaluation tools, web authoring programs, accessible browsers, and repair utilities that can help make a Web site compliant. http://aware.hwg.org/tools/

Browser Check - Shows how your page appears when viewed with different browsers. http://www.netmechanic.com/cobrands/zdnet/browsercheck/

Load Check - Checks how long your Web site takes to load at various access speeds and helps you identify which parts are too slow. http://www.netmechanic.com/cobrands/zdnet/loadcheck/

W3C - Web Accessibility Initiative's Evaluation, Repair, and Transformation Tools for Web Content Accessibility is a one-stop-shop for tools to use in testing a site for compatibility. http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html

Web TV viewer - Preview your sites on WebTV without leaving your PC! The WebTV Viewer simulates WebTV on your personal computer. http://developer.msntv.com/Tools/WebTVVwr.asp

SOFTWARE UTILITIES

Sun's Java Accessibility Utilities - An excellent source of utility classes designed to help assistive technologies interact with Web development components. http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/jaccess-1.2/doc/

Adobe's PDF Converter allows you to convert regular PDF files to HTML. One of the required standards is providing HTML alternative to PDF files. http://access.adobe.com/simple_form.html

HTML & ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

The University of Utah Webmaster Resources provides informative links for Web standards plus accessibility and validation tools. http://www.utah.edu/uwebresources/reference/index.html

City of San Jose is the first local government authority to set up Web accessibility standards. http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/oaacc/disacces.html

A US Standards for Accessible Web Design. They are from the New South Wales Attorney General's Web site, but contain a nice set of core standards that are transferable across the Internet. http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink.nsf/pages/aus_standards

CHECKLISTS

The Web Accessibility Checklist - From the W3C, this checklist covers all three priority levels of compliance and is much more in depth. http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html

The Web Page Accessibility Checklist from the Department of Justice http://www.section508.gov/

The Software Accessibility Checklist from the Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/archive/oldsoftware.html

The following "Quick Tips" introduce some key concepts of accessible Web design. http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/

Revised June 18, 2001