Digital Accessibility: Inclusion and Compliance (Part 1)

With the prevalence of digital content in our everyday lives, it’s important to understand why digital accessibility is important and how you can ensure your content is accessible.

Fundamentally, digital accessibility means providing equal access to digital resources and content to everyone. By removing barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing and contributing to digital content, we can ensure an inclusive community, at UB and beyond.

Digital accessibility is not a new concept. From its beginning, the web was designed to work for everyone. And when the Web Accessibility Initiative launched in 1997, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, said “The power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”

Although digital accessibility has been a topic for many years, it’s vital for us to continue to learn about its importance, understand how each of us can impact accessibility in our work and teaching, and advocate for better accessibility in any technology we use or purchase.

Digital accessibility is important for two key reasons: inclusion and compliance.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.8 million (12.7%) of Americans have a disability. Another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Disability Impacts All of Us—estimates that up to 20% of adults in the U.S. have some type of disability. These disabilities can be permanent, temporary or situational. Chances are, most of us at some time in our lives will experience a disability.

Ensuring digital accessibility allows people with disabilities to fully participate in digital communications, including online. The Perkins School for the Blind says that “digital accessibility is critical to creating a more inclusive world for everyone. It supports independence, individuality and identity.”

Digital accessibility helps people with any type of disability including:

• Auditory
• Cognitive
• Neurological
• Physical
• Speech
• Visual

It also benefits people without disabilities in various ways:

• Small screens and different input modes
• Changing abilities due to aging
• Temporary disabilities
• Situational limitations
• Slow internet connection

Many countries around the world have laws in place that address digital accessibility. The United States is no exception with two specific laws that impact digital accessibility:

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits disability-based discrimination by programs that receive federal funds.
• Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination based on disability by public entities, whether or not they receive federal funds.

While these laws were instituted prior to the inception of the web, in 2010 the Department of Justice affirmed that the internet and websites are covered under these laws:

“Under title II, qualified individuals with disabilities may not be excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of, nor subjected to discrimination by, public universities and colleges.”

At the New York State level, Senate Bill S7572A will take effect on May 31 and will require vendors and contractors who do business with the state to comply with the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

In addition, UB’s Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Policy states that the university “is committed to providing equal access to its services, programs and activities to everyone, including people with physical, sensory or cognitive impairments, with or without the use of assistive technology.” The associated policy Guidance further defines that digital content includes:

• Classroom and teaching technologies
• Content and learning management systems
• Desktop, mobile and cloud-based applications created either internally or made available through third-party vendors
• Digital signs
• Electronic documents
• Email
• Instructional materials
• Library resources
• Social media
• Video and audio content
• Websites (public facing and internal)

Lastly, the university is required through a 2020 agreement with the Office for Civil Rights to ensure that all current and new online content and functionality must be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Learn some easy ways to make your digital content accessible in Part 2 of this series, Digital Accessibility: Quick Fixes to Make Your Content Accessible.