Karen Sichler
Dr. Gu
ENGL 8123
Introduction
According to the 2023 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 13.6% of the total American population live with a disability. This represents nearly 45 million Americans with half of those in the 18 to 64 age range – the period in one’s life where one is most likely to take part in higher education, find life-sustaining work, and engage in a majority of the aspects of American culture and society. Americans with a disability, however, are less likely to have a computer or a smartphone and are three times more likely to not go online at all (Perrin & Atske, 2021). According to the 2018 Digital Futures Project, the average American spent 22.5 hours a week online. However, this statistic was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic which represented a pivot point in Internet usage worldwide because of governmental quarantining requirements. McClain et al. (2021) found that for 90% of Americans, the Internet was of major significance to their lives with 40% using the Internet in new and different ways than they had previously. Perrin and Atske (2021, March) discovered in this post-quarantine period at least 3 in 10 adults in America defined themselves as “almost constantly” online with nearly half going online several times a day. With engagement increasing in the general population in tandem with an ever-increasing displacement o life’s activities online, Americans with disabilities are less likely to gain equal access to government services, employment, education, socialization, and commerce without accessible design as a bedrock of the web.
To provide a high-level overview of accessibility, this work will first discuss the legal requirements for accessibility with an examination of federal legislation written to help make the web accessible for individuals with disabilities. This work will then review the fundamental design standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which are also employed by federal and local governments as the national guidelines for accessibility.
Definitions
Person with a Disability/Disabilities
As defined by the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who “has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).”
Web Accessibility
According to W3C, web accessibility occurs when “websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.” Specifically, individuals with disabilities are full citizens of the web by being able to navigate, add to, and understand their digital worlds. (Henry, 2024).
Legal Standards for Accommodations and Disability
In 1990, President George W. Bush signed the Americans with Disability Act into law which secured the right for persons with a disability to be able to access public places and services. As Rowland (2023, p. 5) highlights, no websites were publically available at the time. Title III, however, guaranteed access to public accommodations and commercial facilities providing the foundation for website accessibility as more of our lives moved onto digital frontiers. Although not explicitly mentioned due to the period in which the law was written, the Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, had viewed websites as another form of “public entity” falling under the protection of Title III. Using Title II of the ADA, the Department of Justice enshrined this action with a rule issued in 2024 for “[i]t is critical to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access important web content and mobile apps quickly, easily, independently, privately, and equally…accessible web content and mobile apps also promote the equal enjoyment of fundamental constitutional rights, such as rights with respect to speech, assembly, association, petitioning, voting, and due process of law.”
The federal government continued to expand protections throughout this decade. Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provided expanded coverage by requiring communication technology and services to be accessible by individuals with a disability, specifically:
- wired and wireless telecommunication devices, such as telephones (including pay phones and cellular phones), pagers, and fax machines;
- other products that have a telecommunication service capability, such as computers with modems; and
- equipment that carriers use to provide services, such as a phone company’s switching equipment.
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC), the governing body responsible for implementing these new standards, ultimately caved to pressure by adapting a watered-down definition of “readily achievable” on the side of the industry by allowing for cost, “nature of the action” and the resources available to determine what needed to be completed (Kanayama, 2003, pp. 190 – 191). Under current guidance from the Access Board, the independent federal agency charged with working for equality for individuals with a disability, have provided the following standards:
Output, Display, and Control Functions
- be available in audible form and, where appropriate, tactile form (for people with no vision)
- be available in a form other than audible that is accessible to people with low vision and little or no hearing
- be available in visual form (for people with no hearing)
- be available in enhanced audible form, such as increased amplification, increased signal-to-noise ratio, or a combination (for people who are hard of hearing)
- allow moving text, where used, to be presented in a static form at the user’s option (for people with limited cognitive skills or vision)
- have minimum visual flicker (to help prevent seizures in persons with photosensitive epilepsy)
- allow audio cutoff where external speakers are used through standard connectors for headphones or personal listening devices
- minimize interference with hearing aids and other hearing technologies
- allow wireless coupling to hearing aids where audio tranducers normally held up to the ear are used
Product Compatibility with Adaptive Equipment
- providing all information for operating products in a standard electronic text format since people with significant or multiple disabilities may not be able to use the built-in displays and control mechanisms of a product
- a connection point on products with auditory output so that people with hearing impairments can plug in devices, such as hearing aids and amplifying headphones, that isolate and enhance the output
- compatibility with prosthetics so that touch screens and touch controls can be operated by head sticks and other prosthetics instead of by body contact
- connections for TTYs on products allowing voice communication and compatibility with TTY signals
Design Planning and Product Information
- Braille – cassette recordings – large print- electronic text – Internet postings – TTY access- captioning and audio description for video materials
The next step in the federal government’s continued trajectory in safeguarding ease of access for persons with a disability occurred with the 1998 update to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Section 504 of the act disallowed the exclusion “from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service.” Under Section 508, the federal government required all agencies to ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency, that the electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology.
W3C Accessibility Guidelines
Ensuring access to the digital world for all members of society is not only a social good but also makes good business sense. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) made access to information one of the articles at the time of its adoption. Article 21 entitled “Freedom of Expression and Opinion, and Access to Information” of the CRPD urged states to:
- provide information intended for the general public to persons with disabilities in accessible formats and technologies appropriate to different kinds of disabilities in a timely manner and without additional cost
- accept and facilitate the use of sign languages, Braille, augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official interactions
- urge private entities that provide services to the general public, including through the Internet, to provide information and services in accessible and usable formats for persons with disabilities
- encourage the mass media, including providers of information through the Internet, to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities
- recognize and promote the use of sign languages
WCAG 2
Published on October 5, 2023, WCAG 2.2 is the most current standard for developing and designing content for the web. There are four (4) general principles with thirteen (13) specific guidelines. W3C has also established success criteria to determine the level of conformance. Websites can earn either an “A,” “AA,” or “AAA” depending upon several different factors. For example, it may not be possible to fully satisfy all websites and all types of content or would the criteria substantially change the “look and feel” of the website. What follows is a sketch of the general principles as well as the specific guidelines.
Perceivable Information and User Interface
The first guideline for WCAG 2.2 provides specifications on how to present both text and non-textual content in a way users with a disability can perceive it. Text alternatives, time-based media, adaptability, and making content distinguishable comprise this principle. For text alternatives, this requires designers to include other means of accessing textual material by including options such as braille, symbols, or simpler language. Under the principle of time-based media, creators again need to find additional ways of representing live or prerecorded audio and visual material for consumers. Accommodations could include close captioning or sign language interpretation for individuals who have hearing limitations. Adaptability sets forth a standard for creators to present content in multiple ways without losing its inherent meaning. For this principle, an accommodation could include the ability for users to employ assistive technologies to access a site. Finally, the guideline of distinguishable encompasses the need to ensure users can discern foreground content from the background. Under this protocol, accommodations can encourage certain color choices in the creation of the design so that the design is “color-barrier free.”
Operable User Interface and Navigation
The second principle highlights the need to consider how individuals with a disability engage with online content on their own. Several of the guidelines that are part of this principle concern hardware. First, all content should be completely accessible from the keyboard as well as including multiple input modalities. For instance, allowing for the use of a pointer instead of a keyboard depending upon the needs of the user. Designers also need to consider the use of flashing content or other animated media due to the potential for inducing a physical reaction such as a seizure or migraine in a visitor to a site. The design of the page needs to also allow for sufficient time for users to read and use the content available on the site. Lastly, the page must be navigable for the user. This guideline can include the titling of web pages so that users can easily identify the use or topic,
Understandable Information and User Interface
The third principle necessitates users can both understand and engage with the content provided on a website. The three guidelines under this element obligate designers to create content that is not only readable, predictable, but also assists users to concurrently avoid and correct mistakes. Websites, under these guidelines, should be thoughtful when using expressions and words embracing jargon, post-secondary vocabulary, and abbreviations as all of these conventions can obscure meaning for the site user. In addition, while dynamic and bold design may be present, the sites should work in a manner consistence with average website usage. Finally, when a user inputs information to a website field, the data entered should be able to be checked and confirmed by the user along with the ability to reverse errors or receive assistance.
Robust Content and Reliable Interpretation
The final principle demands content robust enough to be understood by a wide variety of technologies both now and in the future.
WCAG 3.0
In 2024, W3C began exploring the next iteration of the web accessibility guidelines. Although no implementation date has been announced, the desired outcomes for the evolving standards are to:
- better understand the scope of user needs and how they could be addressed in an accessibility standard,
- request assistance in identifying gaps, and
- request assistance locating and conducting research to validate or invalidate the drafted outcomes
When reviewing the draft document, the first noticeable difference concerns the elimination of the 4 over-arching principles organizing the underlying guidelines. The current guidelines include the following:
- Animation and movement
- Forms, inputs, and errors
- Process and task completion
- Image and media alternatives
- Interactive components
- Input/operation
- Layout
- Consistency across views
- Policy and protection
- Text and wording
- Help and feedback
- User control
Due to the early stages of this project and the exploratory nature of many of the subheadings under the guidelines, it would be inappropriate to assert much about these new standards. If, however, the steering committee continues with a guideline-based rubric without the additional layer of principles, it does engage a more flexible structure and, potentially, allows for outward growth. In addition, new, and growing, issues such as AI are now represented.
Resources for Learning and Certification
Accessibility of ICT for Government Executives
How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference)
Microsoft Word & Accessibility Best Practices
Section 508: What is it and Why is it Important?
Technology Accessibility Playbook
W3Cx: Introduction to Web Accessibility
Accessibility for Teams – Digital.gov Guide
Annual Disability Statistics Collection
Universal Design
Universal Design and Accessibility – Section 508
Universal Design – Wyoming Institute for Disabilities
The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design
Universal Design – Department of Labor
Universal Design – Interaction Design Foundation
Universal Design: Great for Accessibility, Good for Everyone (Presentation)
Checking Your Design for Accessibility
WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tools
References
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