State of ConnecticutWeb Site Accessibility Committee

Our Approach to Making Online Government Accessible

Technology Accessibility Conference - SCSU

October 12, 2007

Kathleen Anderson

History of the State of Connecticut’s Web Site Accessibility Policy

Version 3.1 – December 1996– http://www.access.state.ct.us/policies/accesspolicy31.html

Version 4.0 – July 2000– http://www.access.state.ct.us/policies/accesspolicy40.html

Version 5 (proposed) – 2005– http://www.access.state.ct.us/wg/proposal.asp

Version 6 (in progress) – 2007– Section 508 http://www.section508.gov/

Version 3.1

Written in August 1996 Adopted in December 1996 Based on the TRACE Center Unified Web

Site Accessibility Guidelines No training given to state webmasters Not rigorously enforced No compliance date set

Version 4.0

Committee formed in October, 1999 All Committee members are volunteers Policy written by Committee members in the Spring of 2000 Adopted on July 26, 2000 Incorporates the W3C WAI Web Content Accessibility

Guidelines – Priority 1 Checkpoints– Encourages the use of valid HTML– Requires a valid DOCTYPE declaration

Target date for compliance was January 2002

Version 5 (Proposed)

Working Group formed in December, 2004 Proposal developed in 2005 Incorporates:

– All WCAG Priority 1 Guidelines– Some Priority 2 and Priority 3 Guidelines– Section 508 Standards that are not WCAG P1– One Guideline from WCAG 2.0 (Draft)

“Why not Section 508?” “Why not wait for WCAG 2.0?”

State Policy Version 3.1 – December 1996– http://www.access.state.ct.us/policies/accesspolicy31.html

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 – May 1999– http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/

State Policy Version 4.0 – July 2000– http://www.access.state.ct.us/policies/accesspolicy40.html

Section 508 Rules – February 2001– http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 – June 2005 (Working Draft)– http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

State Policy Version 5 (Draft) – 2005– http://www.access.state.ct.us/wg/proposal.asp

Refresh of Section 508 Standards – http://www.access-board.gov/news/508update.htm

State Policy Version 6 (in progress) – 2007– Section 508 http://www.section508.gov/

Version 4.0 Implementation

Communications– Web Site: http://www.access.state.ct.us/– Listserv: CT-Access http://

www.access.state.ct.us/listserv/subscribeform.htm

– Monthly face-to-face meetings open to all state webmasters

Version 4.0 Training

Training provided to state webmasters– External – New Horizons – Fall, 2000 – Funded

by the Department of Information Technology (DOIT)

– Internal – All day “Refresher course” taught by Committee members – Fall, 2001

– Resources, Tools and Tutorials available on web site

Version 4.0 Testing

Testing Center set up All hardware and software donated by state

agencies Test Center Hardware:

– PC running Windows 98– Power Mac G4

Version 4.0 Testing (Continued)

Test Center Software– Browsers/Emulators

Internet Explorer Netscape(s) Opera Lynx WebTV Viewer

– Bobby Worldwide– JAWS (PC), OutSpoken (Mac)

Compliance

Tutorials written by Committee members– Six Steps to Accessibility Certification– How to run Bobby against large web sites– How to install the Lynx browser– How to code a default DOCTYPE in FrontPage– How to create Accessible PowerPoint presentations– How to create Accessible PDF documents

How to obtain Compliance Certification

Agency webmaster writes to the Committee Chair requesting a site review

Chair posts the request to the listserv A committee member volunteers to do the review The process is then taken off-list All communication is private, between the reviewer and

the reviewee

Compliance Negotiation

Occasionally, the Chair is called in during the process as an arbitrator, by either the reviewer or the reviewee:

– Some webmasters use the compliance certification request as a way of finding out what’s wrong with their site, instead of doing a preliminary assessment themselves

– Differences of opinion – “spirit of the law” Most reviews have a successful outcome

Compliance Certification

Site is certified to be compliant with the policy Webmasters place a compliance statement and a link to the policy

on their site Webmaster and their agency head are presented with certificates

at quarterly statewide webmaster meetings A list of all compliant (and non-compliant) web sites is available on

our web site for all to see

The Pros and Cons of Policy vs. Law

Funding Buy-in Training Compliance

Funding

No funding for a Policy All goods and services are donated

– Hardware– Software– Time

Like Blanche DuBois, we depend on the kindness of strangers

Buy-in

A Law leaves no doubt whether or not to comply

A Law normally has funding attached Provides an avenue and redress for

complaints

Training

Training needs to be funded Training needs to be mandatory Training needs to be offered on an on-going

basis– New hires– New technologies– New consultants

Compliance

A Law mandates compliance A Policy mandates compliance; however,

– Scope is unclear different branches of government Internet vs. Intranet vs. Extranet Physical location of server (state server or vendor server)

– Not a priority for agencies in an era of budget cuts– No penalty for non-compliance

External Issues

Vendors Training Software

Vendors

Difficult to find qualified consultants already on state contract

Proposals submitted by vendors were unrealistic in terms of:

– Hours– Scope of work– Dollar amount of the proposal

Raised the questions: – Did the vendors really know what they were being asked to

do?– Did they think we didn’t know what we were asking for?

Vendor Training

Problem solved in Connecticut by requiring vendors to be trained in how to make Accessible web sites

Training was provided by the State at no cost to vendors

Test center made available for use by vendors Committee web site and listserv available as resources

for follow-up

Vendor Training Issues

Billable hours– Vendors thought the State should pay for the time the consultant

was in class– We said: “We don’t pay for your database training, accessibility

training isn’t any different – it’s a skill set required to qualify for a state contract”

Attitude– Some consultants walked into class with a “low enthusiasm level”– 99% walked out “getting it” and thanking us for the learning

opportunity

Keys to Training Successes

Webmasters must experience the barriers in a hands-on environment– Take them out of their comfort zone (out of their

office, away from their PC)– Take away the mouse– Turn off the speakers– Turn off images

Training can be effective in either a classroom environment or online

How did we do?

Summer 2002– 81 consultants representing 35 companies were trained in

less than 3 months

2004 - 2005– Vendors are asking for training for new hires so they can

remain qualified– They are given a choice of Acceptable courses to choose

from

Web Site Accessibility - Acceptable Training Programs

HTML Writers Guild: http://www.hwg.org/ – Introduction to Designing Accessible

Websites Key-Logic: http://www.key-logic.com/

– Universal Web Site Accessibility Training

Web Site Accessibility - Acceptable Training Programs

New Horizons Computer Learning Center: http://www.newhorizons.com/content/index.aspx

State of Connecticut – Web Site Accessibility Training– Email: kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us– Phone: (860) 622-2159

Software

“It is just as important that all people be able to author content as it is for all people to have access to it.”

– W3C Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 - http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-ATAG10-20000203/

Questions to ask– Does the web page authoring tool create accessible web

pages?– Is the web page authoring tool itself accessible to people with

disabilities?

How to choose an Accessible Authoring Tool

Conformance Reviews done by the WAI Authoring Tools Working Group: http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/2002/tools

Section 508 Buy Accessible: http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=2

What factors contributed most to our success?

Committee participation is voluntary– Policy development– Writing tutorials– Web site reviews

Support from DOIT:– Agreement to adopt a statewide IT policy– Funding for state webmaster training– Mandating vendor training

And, strange as it sounds …

Change in the way state agencies communicate (email, web, listservs, etc.)– Information available faster and accessible to more

people– Discussions held (and decisions made) online

instead of waiting for a meeting– Greatly reduces bureaucracy – and things get done!

For more information

Visit our web site: http://www.access.state.ct.us/ Subscribe to the CT-Access listserv: http://

www.access.state.ct.us/listserv/subscribeform.htm Come to a meeting:

http://www.access.state.ct.us/meetings/2005meetings.html Send me an email: kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us Call me: (860) 622-2159