May Updates from Minnesota's Office of Accessibility

Minnesota IT Services sent this bulletin at 05/31/2019 02:28 PM CDT

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Digital Accessibility News from Minnesota IT Services

Accessibility in Minnesota

Jay Wyant, the state’s Chief Information Accessibility Officer (CIAO), reflects on the current state of accessibility at the State of Minnesota.

On May 7, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the law that required the state CIO to create an accessibility and usability standard for all executive branch state agencies.

One year after that 2009 law, a state digital accessibility standard was published on September 1, 2010.

Nearly two years later, in early 2012, an Office of Accessibility, led by a Chief Information Accessibility Officer (CIAO) was established.

Because of the law, standard, and office:

  • The State of Minnesota includes accessibility requirements in all purchases that involve information technology (IT).
  • Thousands of inaccessible PDFs have been removed from state websites, replaced by accessible PDFs.
  • State agencies have revamped their websites to improve navigation, color contrast, and compatibility with assistive technologies.
  • Captions in videos have become standard.
  • Most large- and medium-sized agencies have at least one digital accessibility coordinator. Many have two, one for the agency and one for the Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) partner.
  • Numerous employees throughout all state agencies have received training in creating accessible documents.
  • Thousands of accessibility Quick Cards (PDF) have been distributed to employees at all state agencies, boards, and commissions.
  • Guidance on how to create accessible maps has been published, with more to come.
  • The monthly Office of Accessibility newsletter has subscribers in multiple states, including Maine, Michigan, and Texas.
  • The Office of Accessibility has published a five-year strategic plan (PDF) and summary (PDF).
  • …and much more.

Yet more remains to be done. So what does the future hold?

  • More training for digital accessibility coordinators, including certification.
  • A revamped procurement process so that we can more effectively hold vendors accountable.
  • More training opportunities for state employees, including on accessibility testing processes.
  • A review of the state accessibility standard to determine whether to include the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 criteria.
  • Better tools and processes to track everything that is done for accessibility.

Throughout it all, state agencies and their leaders have become more aware of their role in making state information and services accessible and usable for employees and citizens. Agency staff are partnering across divisions and even with other agencies to make it easier and more efficient to support accessibility.

Thank you for the work you do every day to make information technology more accessible.

Events and Trainings

In Person Event: Minnesota Assistive Technology and Accessibility Summit 

The Minnesota Assistive Technology (AT) and Accessibility Summit is a learning opportunity directed toward attendees from the public and private sectors - including educators, IT professionals, web managers and content providers, course designers, and individuals who create and disseminate information. The Summit raises awareness of information and communication accessibility and will provide practical tools and strategies to incorporate accessibility into the real-world environment. Technology is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of our life which includes: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is important that resources and materials be accessible to everyone in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities.

Note: registration is required.

Dates: June 13th and 14th

Location: University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus

Cost: $90.00 per day or $125 for both days

In Person Event: Closing the Gap 2019

The Closing The Gap Conference is an opportunity to deepen your assistive technology knowledge and strengthen your implementation strategies.

When you to start thinking differently about how to reach students, how to infuse technology into learning, how to leverage literacy strategies in all content areas and how to work toward ensuring all students are receiving an equitable, flexible education, we can begin to transform these areas, and ultimately increase student achievement and independence.

There will be spotlight presentations by Microsoft Education Experts and members of the Google Accessibility teams.

The full schedule of presentations will be announced July 15, 2019.

Note: registration is required.

Conference Dates: October 2-4, 2019
Pre-conference Workshops: September 30 – October 1, 2019

Location: Mystic Lake Center and Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minnesota

Cost: Registration fees for Closing the Gap vary so check their website for more information.