State of Colorado Accessibility Newsletter: November 2022

Accessibility Laws and You

Understanding the various accessibility laws and what they mean to state and local governments

The ADA and other critical laws continue to support inclusion

Within the digital accessibility space, two U.S. laws receive the most attention: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. However, there’s another federal non-discrimination law that can have important implications for some institutions, including state and local government agencies.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was the first federal law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability status. It applies to federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding, and requires those organizations to provide people with an “equal opportunity to participate in their programs and benefit from their services.” Under Section 504, many organizations may have an obligation to provide accessible web content, along with reasonable accommodations.

What does Section 504 have to do with state and local governments?

On its surface, Section 504 is similar to Section 508. However, Section 508 is specific to federal agencies and includes more specific technical requirements for electronic communications, whereas Section 504 applies to other organizations, including state and local governments.

Here’s a closer look at the major differences between these two sections of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the ADA:

• Section 508 requires federal agencies to offer “comparable access to, and use of, electronic information technology.”
  Section 504 requires organizations that receive federal funding to provide individuals with disabilities with equal opportunities to participate in programs and benefit from services.
• Title II of the ADA effectively extends the requirements of Section 504 to all activities of state and local governments, regardless of whether those agencies receive federal funding.
• Title III of the ADA prohibits businesses, non-profits, and most other organizations from discriminating in “places of public accommodation,” which includes websites and mobile content according to the Department of Justice.

Let’s stop being afraid of civil rights laws designed for inclusion. Let’s stop letting bad actors in the legal space create an atmosphere of fear and influence policy. And most of all, let’s do better and let’s go faster in fulfilling the promise of accessibility and inclusion in the digital world.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that state and local governments provide individuals with disabilities equal access to their programs, services, or activities. This means that local governments are required, and expected, to ensure all of their digital content is accessible by citizens with visual, auditory, and other physical limitations and disabilities.”

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, ADA.gov

Impact of HB21-1110

In Colorado, HB21-1110 makes it a state civil rights violation for a government agency to exclude people with disabilities from receiving services or benefits because of lack of accessibility.

Any Colorado government entity that doesn’t meet OIT’s web accessibility standards could be subject to injunctive relief, meaning a court order to fix the problem; actual monetary damages; or a fine of $3,500 payable to the plaintiff, who must be someone from the disability community.

Summary

• Legislation places responsibility for compliance on both platform providers and content owners.
• OIT has statutory authority in C.R.S. 24-85-101 to establish statewide accessibility standards. Previously, there was no formal process and little enforcement.
• All state agencies and local governments must be compliant with state standards by July 1, 2024.
• OIT will provide resources, training on the state standards, and tools to assist with accessibility, but agencies and local governments will need to make the changes and improvements to their online content.
• FAQ: HB21-1110 Colorado Laws For Persons With Disabilities

What you can do…

State agencies:

• Become familiar with accessibility fundamentals and the current WCAG standards, W3C.
• Reference OIT’s Accessibility Guide for help in managing and creating accessible site content.
• Work with your IT Director to begin your Accessibility Plan.
• Contact the OIT Accessibility Team for assistance with using the Siteimprove accessibility assessment tool.
• Sign up for OIT's State of Colorado Accessibility Newsletter.
• Attend accessibility training held by OIT.
• Contact OIT's Testing Solutions and Services team to learn about manual accessibility testing for websites and applications.

Local government:

• Become familiar with accessibility fundamentals and the current WCAG standards, W3C.
• Reference OIT’s Accessibility Guide for help in managing and creating accessible site content.
• Sign up for OIT's State of Colorado Accessibility Newsletter.
• Attend accessibility training held by OIT (coming soon).

Accessibility law pro tip

WCAG 2.1 A and AA standards and cognitive disabilities

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide guidance for accommodating people with neurocognitive differences, intellectual disabilities and other conditions. Cognitive and learning disabilities include long-term, short-term and permanent difficulties relating to cognitive functions, such as:

• Learning, communication, reading, writing, or math
• The ability to understand or process new or complex information and learn new skills, with a reduced ability to cope independently, and / or memory and attention or visual, language, or numerical thinking.

By prioritizing cognitive accessibility, you can reach more people — and WCAG provides an excellent framework for building effectively.

For example, by using basic terminology and plain language, you can create content that appeals to more of your readers. WCAG Success Criteria (SC) 3.1.5, “Reading Level,” recommends writing text at a lower secondary education level.

A Tool to Use

Hemingway App

Copy and paste the text into the Hemingway app and get immediate readability feedback:

• Identify the grade reading level of the writing.
• Highlight the use of passive voice and adverbs.
• Provide simpler alternatives for complex or lengthy words.
• Spotlight difficult-to-read sentences.

Who the Hemingway app helps

APS webmasters and writers should use the Hemingway app before posting online.

• Easier-to-read content helps everyone, including:
• People who may have a learning disability, such as dyslexia.
• People who are not native English speakers.
• Mobile readers who skim content.

How the Hemingway app works

• Go to HemingwayApp.com external link.
• Paste your content into the app editor. Editing tips will immediately appear.
• Hover over highlighted text to read the full suggestions.

To learn more about cognitive accessibility, we recommend visiting the Web Accessibility Initiative’s (WAI) Cognitive Accessibility guide. WAI’s resources explain the various ways that accessibility barriers affect real people, which can be extremely helpful when developing your organization’s digital accessibility strategy.

Accessibility Standards

State of Colorado Accessibility Statement

C.R.S. 24-85-104, ARTICLE 85. "INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED", (PDF)

TS-OEA-001: Technology Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, (PDF)

TS-OEA-002: Technology Accessibility for Web Content and Applications, (PDF)

WCAG 2.1 Standards, W3C

Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section508.gov

Accessibility Resources

• Accessibility Fundamentals Overview, W3C
• Accessibility Law & Planning for Local Governments presentation
• OEDIT's CCI Accessibility Corner October Edition: Disability Employment Awareness Month
• OIT’s Accessibility Guide
• TS-OEA-002: Technology Accessibility for Web Content and Applications, (PDF)
• The following links are DIY testing tools for use in your everyday work. These tools are not a substitute for automated and manual testing but will help in making websites and documentation accessible from the beginning.
  • Websites: WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool, WebAIM
  • Websites: Siteimprove Browser Extensions (Chrome and Firefox), Siteimprove
  • Websites: Selecting Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools, W3C
  • Keyboard accessibility: Follow the Keyboard Accessibility guide, WebAIM
  • Color: Color Contrast Checker, WebAIM
  • Visual Impairment: Straw test, HCB University
  • Testing Template: Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)