Transcript State of Connecticut CMAC Web Site Accessibility Committee Our Approach to

State of Connecticut
CMAC Web Site Accessibility
Committee
Our Approach to
Making Online
Government Accessible
History of the State of Connecticut’s
Web Site Accessibility Policy
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Version 3.1 - 1996
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http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy31.html
Version 4.0 - 2000
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http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy40.html
Version 3.1
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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
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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
Target date for compliance was January 2002
Version 4.0 Implementation
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Communications
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Web Site: http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/
Listserv: CMAC-AC
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/listserv/subscribeform.htm
Monthly meetings open to all state webmasters
Training provided to state webmasters
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External – New Horizons – Fall, 2000 – Funded by DOIT
Internal – Taught by Committee members – Fall, 2001
Resources, Tools and Tutorials available on web site
Version 4.0 Testing
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Testing Center set up
All hardware and software donated by state
agencies
Hardware:
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PC running Windows 98
Power Mac G4
Version 4.0 Testing (Continued)
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Test Center Software
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Browsers/Emulators
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Internet Explorer
Netscape(s)
Opera
Lynx
WebTV Viewer
Bobby Worldwide
JAWS (PC), OutSpoken (Mac)
Compliance
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Tutorials
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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
2000
How to create Accessible PowerPoint
presentations
How to create Accessible PDF documents
Certification
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Agency webmaster requests a site review
A committee member volunteers to do the
review
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 agency head are presented
with certificates at statewide meetings
The Pros and Cons of Policy vs.
Law
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Funding
Buy-in
Training
Compliance
Funding
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No funding for a Policy
All goods and services are donated
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Hardware
Software
Time
Like Blanche DuBois, we depend on the
kindness of strangers
Buy-in
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A Law leaves no doubt whether or not to
comply
A Law normally has funding attached
Provides an avenue and redress for
complaints
Training
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Training needs to be funded
Training needs to be mandatory
Training needs to be offered on an on-going
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New hires
New technologies
Compliance
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A Law mandates compliance
A Policy mandates compliance; however,
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Scope is unclear
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different branches of government
Internet vs. Intranet
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
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Vendors
Training
Software
Vendors
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Difficult to find qualified consultants already on state
contract
Proposals submitted by vendors are sometimes
unrealistic ($$$$)
Problem solved in Connecticut by requiring vendors
to be trained
Training provided by the State at no cost to vendors
Test center available for use by vendors
Training
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Webmasters must experience the barriers in
a hands-on environment
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Take away the mouse
Turn off the speakers
Turn off images
Training can be effective in either a
classroom environment or online
Software
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Does the web page authoring tool create accessible
web pages?
Is the web page authoring tool itself accessible to
people with disabilities?
Primary resource for this information: Conformance
Reviews done by the WAI Authoring Tools Working
Group: http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/2002/tools
Also: Section 508 Buy Accessible:
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=C
ontent&ID=2
For more information
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Visit our web site:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/
Subscribe to the CMAC-AC listserv:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/listserv/subscribe
form.htm
Come to a meeting:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/meetings/2002m
eetings.html
Send me an email:
[email protected]
Call me: (860) 702-3355