TxDLA 2017, concurrent session.

1. Exploring the latest
online accessibility suits
and compliance findings
Raymond Rose
Rose & Smith Associates
3/29/2017 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Slides available at http://Slideshare.Net/RaymondRose

2. Do You Know These?
A11y
ADA
DoJ
OCR
Section 504
Section 508
Section 508 refresh
UDL
WCAG 2.0 AA

3. Background
• K-12 educator
• Civil Rights Specialist with Mass Dept of Education
• Civil Rights Specialist/Manager New England equity assistance center
• Virtual High School designer/manager
• 1st virtual school special needs policy
• 2007 1st publication access and equity in online education
• Faculty, Instructional Technology and Distance Learning Coordinator,
Huston-Tillotson U.
• Technical Working Group, Center on Online Learning and Students with
Disabilities
• Access and Equity for All Learners in Blended and Online Education

4. Terms To Know
A11y
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973
Section 508 refresh
US Dept of Justice (DoJ)
US Dept of Ed Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
WCAG 2.0 AA
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

5. Most Recent Findings
K-12
11 institutions in 7 states (June 2016)
Higher Education
UC Berkeley (August 2016)
Dudley (and DoJ) vs Miami (October 2016)

6. 11 Institutions in 7 Western states
Laws cited: (OCR)
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973
Title II of Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Website Issues:
Alt Tags,
color contrast,
captioning,
requiring mouse to navigate

7. Corrective Actions
• Audit website (independent auditor)
• Adopting polices and procedures to ensure all new
and modified content will be accessible.
• Makin all new content accessible
• Developing corrective action plan
• Posting notice – how to request access or report
issues
• A11y Training for all appropriate staff

8. UC Berkely
Law cited: ADA (complaint DoJ)
MOOC Issues:
No or improper captions
Color contrast and color only direction
Document format issues
Links not keyboard accessible
Failure to follow on policies on web a11y.

9. Corrective Action
• Pay compensatory damages
• Develop system to monitor compliance
• Develop and implement procedures to ensure
compliance with WCAG 2.0 AA
• Develop mechanisms and implement procedures to
solicit, receive, respond to barriers of access

10. UC Berkeley’s Response
Materials no longer available after
March 15, 2017

11. Analysis
Narrowly constructed finding based on a
complaint.
Digital content behind passwords were not
included in the original complaint nor in the letter
of finding.

12. Miami (OH) University
Laws Cited: (DoJ with private person and NFB)
Title II Americans with Disabilities Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Issues:
LMS and Website
Assistive Technologies
Tech Procurement

13. Consent Decree (56 +13 pages)
• Modify policy, practice and procedures
• Make websites and subdomains accessible
• Includes 3rd party websites (e.g. housing, dining,
registration, bill pay, etc)
• Videos
• LMS
• Curricular Materials (texts, workbooks, articles,
presentations, graphics, etc)
• Accessibility Technology Coordinator
• Training (everybody)

14. Corrective Actions
• Designate Web A11y Coordinator – reporting to VP for IT
• Ensure LMS (Canvas) conforms to WCAG 2.0 AA
• Provides students registered with SDS accessible curriculum
materials
• Communicate with students registered with SDS regularly to
ensure they are getting services and accessible materials.
• Train personal responsible for making materials accessible
• Cause all websites and web applications to conform to
WCAG 2.0 AA
• Create, distribute, implement accessible technology policy

15. Corrective Actions
• Designate Accessible Technology Coordinator – reporting to VP for IT
• Create Accessibility Committee
• Provide mandatory accessible technology training to all annually
• Create Accessible Educational Resources Portal
• Make technology procurement process ensure products meet
appropriate A11y standards.
• Conduct automated a11y test of website every 3 months.
• Conduct University-wide a11y audit of digital technologies

16. Corrective Actions
• Amend Accommodations Request Form to include Grievance
form/process
• Evaluate Student Disability Services (SDS)
• adequately staffed,
• effective and appropriate practice

17. Analysis
Most prescriptive and detailed Consent Decree to
date.
Focuses first on services to students registered
with SDS and then more broadly on all digital
resources
Broad training mandates

18. OCR’s Operational Definition
“those with a disability are able to acquire the
same information and engage in the same
interactions — and within the same time frame —
as those without disabilities.”
OCR Compliance Review 11-11-2128, 06121583,
paraphrased from 11-13-5001, 10122118, 11-11-6002

19. Contact Information
Raymond Rose
Ray@rose-smith.com
Copies of slides are available at:
http://Slideshare.net/RaymondRose
And my blog:
http://rmrose.blogspot.com

20. WCAG at a Glance
Perceivable
• Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
• Provide captions and other alternatives for
multimedia.
• Create content that can be presented in
different ways, including by assistive
technologies, without losing meaning.
• Make it easier for users to see and hear
content.
Operable
• Make all functionality available from
a keyboard.
• Give users enough time to read and use
content.
• Do not use content that causes seizures.
• Help users navigate and find content.
Understandable
• Make text readable and understandable.
• Make content appear and operate
in predictable ways.
• Help users avoid and correct mistakes.
Robust
• Maximize compatibility with current and future
user tools.

21. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
• http://webaim.org/standards/wcag/WCAG2Checklist.pdf
• https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/

22. Texas Administrative Code
TITLE 1 ADMINISTRATION
PART 10 DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION RESOURCES
CHAPTER 206 STATE WEBSITES
SUBCHAPTER C INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION WEBSITES
RULE §206.70 Accessibility
(a) Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the agency head or an exemption has been made for specific technologies pursuant
to §213.37 of this title, all new or changed web pages must comply with:
(1) the standards described in Section 508 Subpart B §1194.22, paragraphs (a) through (p), excluding paragraphs (b) and (k);
(2) the standards and specifications described in this section; and
(3) the standards and specifications applicable to an institution of higher education's accessibility policy described in §213.41 of this title.
(b) Based on a request for accommodation of a webcast of a live/real time open meeting (Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551) or
training and informational video productions which support the institution of higher education's mission, each institution of higher education must
consider alternative forms of accommodation. Refer to §206.1 of this chapter for definitions for Alternate Formats and Alternate Methods.
(c) An alternative version page, with equivalent information or functionality, must be provided to make a website comply with the provisions of this
section, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the alternative page must be updated whenever the primary page
changes.
(d) Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception is approved by the agency head or an exemption has been made for specific technologies pursuant
to §213.37 of this title, all new or changed web page/site designs must be tested by the institution of higher education using one or more Section 508
compliance tools in conjunction with manual procedures to validate compliance with this chapter.
(e) An institution of higher education must establish an accessibility policy as described in §213.41 of this title which must include criteria for
monitoring its website for compliance with the standards and specifications of this chapter. Additional information about testing tools and resources
are available on the Department's website.
(f) Each state website should be designed with consideration for current and emerging Internet connection technologies available to the general public.

23. Resources
PDF Information: Adobe and Accessibility website
www.adobe.com/accessibility.html
http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/accessibility/products
/acrobat/pdfs/acrobat-xi-accessibility-checker.pdf
http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/acrobat
Creating Accessible Tables and Data Tables
http://webaim.org/techniques/tables/
http://webaim.org/techniques/tables/data
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24. Resources
10 Free Screen Readers
http://usabilitygeek.com/10-free-screen-
reader-blind-visually-impaired-users/
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25. Resource
FREE Screen Reader
NVDA
http://www.nvaccess.org/
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a free “screen reader”
which enables blind and vision impaired people to use
computers. It reads the text on the screen in a computerized
voice. You can control what is read to you by moving the cursor
to the relevant area of text with a mouse or the arrows on your
keyboard.
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26. Resource
Color Blindness Simulator
http://www.seewald.at/en/2012/01/color_blindness_corre
ction_and_simulator
See through the eyes of your red, green or blue colorblind
student.
Android only
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27. Most Frequently Cited OCR Findings
• Lack of Alternative Text on All Images
• Documents Not Posted in an Accessible Format
• Lack of Captions on All Videos and the Inability to Operate Video
Controls Using Assistive Technology
• Improperly Structured Data Tables
• Improperly Formatted and Labeled Form Fields
• Improper Contrast Between Background and Foreground Colors