Making Webpages ADA Compliant

Before putting in all that hard work, here are a few issues you will need to consider when creating your new webpages.

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

Currently the Department of Education and State are in the process of outlining what it means to be ADA compliant, however in the meantime, it has been recommended that we follow the section 508 guidelines when developing webpages. Here are a few tips:

1) Whenever possible provide a text only option. Preferably link which loads at the very top of your page so it is the first thing a screen reader will read.

2) Design your pages to accommodate older browsers and lower resolution monitors. Many screen readers cannot read over 256 colors.

3) All graphics (pictures and navigation buttons) must have ALT tags describing what they are. Graphics that show information, such as graphical charts must have descriptor tags which link to a separate text file which accurately describe the information shown in that graphic. The exception would be maps which don't translate very well.

4) PDF Documents - are not ADA compliant. You should provide a alternative HTML version of the pdf document.

5) JAVA, VB Script, JavaScript are not compliant. And may crash screen readers. Please avoid using when possible.

6) Make your page navigable by using the tab key.

To check if you page is minimally compliant, you can go to: http://www.cast.org/bobby

For more information about ADA: Contact the Disability and Communication Board, Department of Health.

Other links:

Federal Access Board's Proposed Rule's :http://www.access-board.gov
CAST Bobby - Accessibility Checker: http://www.cast.org/bobby/index.html

COPPA: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/biz.htm

This act mostly applies to commercial entities, but as general operators, we minimally need to provide a privacy policy. Outlining what information we collect (like ip address, visited pages, email addresses, any personal information -- see page for detailed information/exceptions) and what you do with collected information)