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State of Connecticut CMAC Web Site Accessibility Committee

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. Version 3.1 - 1996 http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy31.html Version 4.0 - 2000

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State of Connecticut CMAC Web Site Accessibility Committee

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  1. State of ConnecticutCMAC Web Site Accessibility Committee Our Approach to Making Online Government Accessible

  2. History of the State of Connecticut’s Web Site Accessibility Policy • Version 3.1 - 1996 • http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy31.html • Version 4.0 - 2000 • http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy40.html

  3. 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

  4. 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 • Target date for compliance was January 2002

  5. Version 4.0 Implementation • Communications • 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 • External – New Horizons – Fall, 2000 – Funded by DOIT • Internal – Taught by Committee members – Fall, 2001 • Resources, Tools and Tutorials available on web site

  6. Version 4.0 Testing • Testing Center set up • All hardware and software donated by state agencies • Hardware: • PC running Windows 98 • Power Mac G4

  7. Version 4.0 Testing (Continued) • Test Center Software • Browsers/Emulators • Internet Explorer • Netscape(s) • Opera • Lynx • WebTV Viewer • Bobby Worldwide • JAWS (PC), OutSpoken (Mac)

  8. Compliance • Tutorials • 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

  9. Certification • 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

  10. The Pros and Cons of Policy vs. Law • Funding • Buy-in • Training • Compliance

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. Compliance • A Law mandates compliance • A Policy mandates compliance; however, • Scope is unclear • 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

  15. External Issues • Vendors • Training • Software

  16. Vendors • 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

  17. Training • Webmasters must experience the barriers in a hands-on environment • Take away the mouse • Turn off the speakers • Turn off images • Training can be effective in either a classroom environment or online

  18. Software • 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=Content&ID=2

  19. For more information • 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/subscribeform.htm • Come to a meeting: http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/meetings/2002meetings.html • Send me an email: kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us • Call me: (860) 702-3355

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