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There are currently two primary sets of guidelines/standards for developing accessible web content. The first is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI); the second is the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards developed by The Access Board as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. The Access Board drew heavily upon the WCAG 1.0 in creating its standards. However, the two sets are not identical. The Access Board worked carefully to use language that is more consistent with enforceable regulatory language. The Section 508 standards, therefore, are legally enforceable for directly covered entities (i.e., the Federal Government), and are likely to inform other laws, e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which directly apply to most universities. The following is a complete listing of the Section 508 standards covering web-based intranet and internet information and applications. For each item, the corresponding WCAG 1.0 checkpoint is provided. All WCAG 1.0 checkpoints are Priority 1 checkpoints (i.e., highest priority on a 3 point scale; violating them means your page will be totally inaccessible to one or more groups). Note that the last five items have no directly corresponding WCAG equivalent. (a) A text equivalent for every
non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in
element content). (b) Equivalent alternatives for
any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation. (c) Web pages shall be designed
so that all information conveyed with color is also available without
color, for example from context or markup. (d) Documents shall be organized
so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet. (e) Redundant text links shall
be provided for each active region of a server-side image map. (f) Client-side image maps shall
be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions
cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. (g) Row and column headers shall
be identified for data tables. (h) Markup shall be used to associate
data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical
levels of row or column headers. (i) Frames shall be titled with
text that facilitates frame identification and navigation. (j) Pages shall be designed to
avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz
and lower than 55 Hz. (k) A text-only page, with equivalent
information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply
with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished
in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated
whenever the primary page changes. (l) When pages utilize scripting
languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information
provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that
can be read by assistive technology. (m) When a web page requires that
an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system
to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in
or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l). (n) When electronic forms are designed
to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive
technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality
required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions
and cues. (o) A method shall be provided
that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links. (p) When a timed response is required,
the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more
time is required. The full text of Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards is available at The Access Board's web site: http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) and many other valuable resources on this topic are available from the WAI web site: http://www.w3.org/WAI/ |
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Date Last Modified: November 17, 2004 by Ricky Lee |
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