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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 ConnecticutCMAC 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 • http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy40.html
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 • Target date for compliance was January 2002
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
Version 4.0 Testing • Testing Center set up • All hardware and software donated by state agencies • 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 • 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 • 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 • 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
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
External Issues • Vendors • Training • Software
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
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
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
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