Our mission at CES focuses on building and enhancing capacity and access for vulnerable students who have unique and individualized needs. In that spirit, our web development approach is committed to presenting information in such a way that anyone can access it – regardless of any situational limitations or disabilities they may have.
What is web accessibility?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were created to provide a list of standards to adhere to in order to make sure all websites, online tools, or other web-based technologies can be used by everyone.
The guidelines include a mix of specific coding standards as well as requirements for how things should look, color contrast, whether or not to include transcriptions, and more.
Why is web accessibility important?
With the increase of information that is available only or primarily over the web, it’s crucial to make sure that information can be accessed and used by everyone.
There are technical advantages to having an accessible website as well. An accessible website will perform better in search engines, due to its proper structure and content formatting. The costs associated with maintaining an accessible website can be lower, as standard processes and formatting reduce the need to revisit and adjust content later on, and can reduce the chances of coding and other structural errors that tend to arise as new features and functionality are added.
Is CES required to have an accessible website and accessible public documents?
Section 504 (1973) and Section 508 (1998) of the Rehabilitation Act have required programs receiving federal funding to not discriminate against those with disabilities (intentionally or unintentionally) based on their disability status.
While these have been in place for a long time, it wasn’t until January 18, 2018, that the US Section 508 Rehabilitation Act required all federal and state based organizations (including schools) to comply with WCAG 2.0 Level A and Level AA standards. WCAG 2.1 is now also available for those that want to offer a more accessible and adaptable website early on, it is not required by law – yet.
CES is required that all public websites and publically accessible documents be accessible and meet AA guidelines. Any documents that are referenced by third parties, such as DESE, that are not compliant, will cause those third party website to also fall out of compliance.
