Transcript State of Connecticut Web Site Accessibility Committee Our Approach to Making Online

State of Connecticut
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 – December 1996
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http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy31.html
Version 4.0 – July 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
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Encourages the use of valid HTML
Requires a valid DOCTYPE declaration
Target date for compliance was January 2002
Timeline – or “Why not Section 508?”
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Version 3.1 – December 1996
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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 –
May 1999
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http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/
Version 4.0 – July 2000
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http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy31.html
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy40.html
Section 508 Rules – February 2001
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http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web
Version 4.0 Implementation
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Communications
– Web Site: http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/
– Listserv: Access-CT
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/listserv/subscr
ibeform.htm
– Monthly face-to-face meetings open to all state
webmasters
Version 4.0 Training
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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
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Testing Center set up
All hardware and software donated by state
agencies
Test Center 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 written by Committee members
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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
How to create Accessible PowerPoint
presentations
How to create Accessible PDF documents
How to obtain Compliance
Certification
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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
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Occasionally, the Chair is called in during the
process as an arbitrator, by either the
reviewer or the reviewee:
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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
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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
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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
basis
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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 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
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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 were unrealistic in
terms of:
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Hours
Scope of work
Dollar amount of the proposal
Raised the questions:
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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
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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
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Billable hours
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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
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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
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Webmasters must experience the barriers in
a hands-on environment
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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?
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Summer 2002
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81 consultants representing 35 companies were trained in
less than 3 months
Winter 2004
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Vendors are asking for training for new hires so they can
remain qualified
They are given a choice of Acceptable courses to choose
from
Universal Web Site Accessibility
Acceptable Training Programs
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HTML Writers Guild – Online Classes
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Accessible Web Design:
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/accessibilityd
esign.html
Web Accessibility Techniques:
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/accessibilityt
echniques.html
Key-Logic: Universal Web Site Accessibility
Training
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http://www.key-logic.com/
Universal Web Site Accessibility
Acceptable Training Programs
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New Horizons Computer Learning Center
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http://www.computertrainingschools.com/newhoriz
ons/hartford/windsor/
State of Connecticut – Universal Web Site
Accessibility Training
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Email: [email protected]
Phone: (860) 622-2159
Software
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“It is just as important that all people be able
to author content as it is for all people to
have access to it.”
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W3C Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-ATAG1020000203/
Questions to ask
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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?
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?F
useAction=Content&ID=2
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What factors contributed most to our
success?
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Committee participation is voluntary
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Policy development
Writing tutorials
Web site reviews
Support from DOIT:
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Agreement to adopt a statewide IT policy
Funding for state webmaster training
Mandating vendor training
And, strange as it sounds …
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Change in the way state agencies
communicate (email, web, listservs, etc.)
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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
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Visit our web site:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/
Subscribe to the Access-CT listserv:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/listserv/subscribe
form.htm
Come to a meeting:
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/meetings/2003m
eetings.html
Send me an email:
[email protected]
Call me: (860) 622-2159