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Here at the state, we’re working toward the day when all Coloradans have equal opportunities to access state government services and employment, and to participate in the democratic process. The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) has created the Technical Accessibility Program (TAP) to guide the state in achieving that goal.
Through this newsletter, the TAP will share valuable information for both state agencies and local governments, including:
- Accessibility 101
- State accessibility laws, standards and guidelines
- Accessibility testing tools and best practices
- How to improve the accessibility of websites and documents
- How people with disabilities use the web
- Events and trainings
Please share this newsletter and send any questions to oit_accessibility@state.co.us as we all work together to provide accessible, equitable services!
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Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities:
HB21-1110
House Bill 21-1110 (HB21-1110) makes it a state civil rights violation for a government agency to exclude people with disabilities from receiving services or benefits due to lack of accessibility.
Inaccessible technology can interfere with a person's ability to get and use information quickly and easily. When our state IT systems are inaccessible we unfairly exclude a portion of those people who need to access our information or services.
Learn more about HB21-1110
Webinar: Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities (HB21-1110) - Overview of Requirements for Local Government
Friday, Jan. 14 at Noon
Colorado Municipal League (CML) will host a webinar with Theresa Montano and Laurie Kubitz of OIT’s Technical Accessibility Program. They will provide an overview of Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities (HB21-1110) for local government, including requirements, penalties and an introduction about how to prepare and plan for accessibility compliance.
Webinar for local government only. "Local Government" is defined as "the government of any county, city and county, home rule or statutory city, town, special district, or school district" as per Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24. Government State § 24-37.5-102.
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We are all designers
Most people think design is about making things look pretty, but it’s much more closely related to strategy. Design is the process of intentionally creating something (anything!) while also considering its purpose, function, human needs and aesthetics.
Design can bridge the gap between what we value (e.g. equal access to government services is a civil right) and how we work. For example, the structure of headers, tables and even page titles can have an impact on accessibility.
How proper content structure improves accessibility:
- People with cognitive and learning disabilities can more easily find and prioritize content on the page.
- People using screen readers can skip to the main content and navigate to sections that are important to them.
- Keyboard users can browse pages and sections more efficiently. Otherwise, users have to press the tab key multiple times to navigate through all of the links in each section.
Think about the documents (e.g. branded templates, project plans, reports) and webpages your team is accountable for and begin to evaluate and then remediate your content structure.
Learn how to successfully structure content on OIT’s accessibility guide to page structure.
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TAP Open Office Hours*
Next month's schedule:
- Tuesday, Jan. 18: Open Topic
- Thursday, Jan. 20: Forms
- Tuesday, Jan. 25: Open Topic
- Thursday, Jan. 27: PDFs
- Tuesday, Feb. 1: Open Topic
- Thursday, Feb. 3: Siteimprove
- Tuesday, Feb. 8: Open Topic
- Thursday, Feb. 10: Creating A Program for Accessibility
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Join the Digital Strategy Community of Practice (DCSoP)!
Collaboration is the key to accessibility success! Join a cross-agency community of web managers, editors, contributors and supporters who value accessible, human-centered online experiences for all Coloradans.
Find out how other agency web teams are approaching accessibility, what work might already be done that you can apply to your efforts and share resources or tools you are using at your agency.
*TAP Open Office Hours and the Digital Strategy Community of Practice are for state agencies only. "State agency" is defined as "all of the departments, divisions, commissions, boards, bureaus, and institutions in the executive branch of the state government. 'State agency' does not include the legislative or judicial department, the department of law, the department of state, the department of the treasury, or state-supported institutions of higher education" as per Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24. Government State § 24-37.5-102.
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