Accessibility in the News—11/17/16
Calls for equal access and nondiscriminatory practices span Trump properties, fitness centers, and more. Many of these calls are in the form of legal actions: 2016 saw an increase in website accessibility demand letters for both banking and real estate, and industry leaders are calling attention to implement online access practices. Other calls take the form of digital learning initiatives and helps, as well as industry and personal accomplishments and assistive technology innovations. Read more in this issue of Accessibility in the News (AITN).
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Three Trump Properties Hit With New Disabilities Violations Complaints
11/2 | Source: The Huffington Post | ADA, Politics, DOJ, Building Access, Lawsuits | United States
Donald Trump’s new Washington, D.C., hotel violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleges a complaint filed on Sept. 29 with the Department of Justice. Three other complaints filed on or since that date allege ADA violations at Trump’s hotel and golf course in Doral, Florida, and at his golf course in Pine Hill, New Jersey, according to documents obtained by The Huffington Post.
The new allegations come after HuffPost reported in September that Trump’s properties had been sued at least eight times over the last 19 years for violating the ADA, and one of those properties was hit with an additional set of violations after a federal inspection.
Trump settled five of those cases. Two others ended with Trump consent decrees and one was terminated when the Trump property in question went into bankruptcy. One case ― the only one Trump even came close to winning ― was dismissed at the request of both Trump and the plaintiff.
Once a complaint has been filed, it is up to the DOJ to choose whether to investigate the complaint and decide if additional measures like mediation or litigation are necessary.
New York AG: LA Fitness to Improve Accessibility
11/2 | Source: WGRZ | Disability Aides, Legal Agreements | New York, United States
LA Fitness will update its policies to ensure that its locations are accessible to all patrons, after reaching an agreement with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office.
After receiving complaints that LA Fitness’s gyms, owned and operated by Fitness International, LLC, would not waive admission fees for the aides accompanying customers with disabilities, Schneiderman’s office began investigating the company in May 2015.
The agreement announced Wednesday requires LA Fitness to provide free admission to aides at all 29 fitness centers throughout the state…
How Will A Trump Administration Change The ADA Title III Landscape?
11/10 | Source: JD Supra | Politics, ADA Title III, DOJ, Business, Commentary | United States
We now know that January 20, 2017 will bring a definitive regime change. How will this change impact Title III of the ADA, the current litigation environment, and pending Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations and enforcement activities? Here are our thoughts.
The ADA was created through bipartisan effort, signed into law by President George Bush in 1990. Since that time, the law has only been amended once – in 2008 – to expand the definition of what constitutes a covered “disability.” In our experience, politicians are reluctant to take any action that would be viewed as being harmful to people with disabilities. Thus, earlier efforts to amend the law to curb lawsuit abuse were unsuccessful. More recently, in response to the surge in the number of ADA Title III lawsuits, business groups have again pushed for reform legislation to address so called “drive-by” lawsuits.
These lawsuits are brought by serial plaintiffs who have filed hundreds of cases and are not likely to be real customers seeking to access the goods and services of a targeted business. Bills introduced in the House and Senate to address this situation may gain more traction with a Republican President and Republican-controlled Congress. That said, the Trump administration will have many higher priority items to push through Congress, so we doubt that the law will change any time soon. Because changes to the law are unlikely, we do not foresee a decrease in the number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in the coming years…
Disability Awareness Month Needs Attention
11/11 | Source: The Guilfordian | Awareness, K-12 Education | North Carolina, United States
“Although many are not aware, there are still … prejudices regarding disability communities,” said Jisoo Kim. “Barriers for people with disabilities are prominent all around the world.” Kim, a senior at Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, is paralyzed from the waist down, the effect of a spinal cord injury in 2012.
Although Kim has raised awareness through talking about her experiences in a wheelchair, she has not seen much effort from her community. “I know that a lot of people talk a lot about doing things to spread awareness about the disability community around me, but when it comes to personal experiences, I can’t think of specific examples,” Kim said.
October was Disability History and Awareness Month. However, efforts of schools to raise awareness about the topic were nonexistent, despite it being mandated by law. Senate Bill 753, which was ratified in 2007, instructs schools in North Carolina to incorporate education on the types of disabilities, people with disabilities and the disability rights movement into their curriculum’s…
Gov.uk Accessibility Survey Finds Problems with PDFs and Search Function
11/11 | Source: Holyrood | Goverment, Website Accessibility, Assistive Technology, PDFs | United Kingdom
The UK Government Digital Service (GDS) has begun addressing accessibility issues with PDFs on GOV.UK following a survey of assistive technology users. Digital accessibility champion Chris Moore said that the team was planning to carry out more user research on accessibility across the sites, as the 2016 GOV.UK survey identified areas users struggle with. It also looked at which technologies that are most popular with users.
The survey, which received more than 700 responses, aimed to identify the types of assistive technologies people used, as well as allowing respondents to feedback more generally about accessibility on GOV.UK. Moore said that a “significant number” said that they were happy with the service provided overall, but that the survey raised issues in a number of areas.
These included difficulties in using PDFs – respondents asked for content to be made available in HTML instead – and in reading the black text on the white background…
Story of Grit and Grace: Haben Girma, First Deaf-Blind Student to Graduate from Harvard Law School
11/12 | Source: The Better India | Deaf-Blind, Education, Advocacy, ADA | United States
From being the first deaf-blind student to graduate from Harvard Law School to becoming an internationally acclaimed accessibility leader and lawyer, Haben Girma’s journey exemplifies grit, grace, and gravity.
Haben Girma’s story begins in Eritrea, Africa, where her mother Saba Gebreyesus grew up amidst the country’s war for independence from Ethiopia. Saba fled to America as a teenager seeking a better life and Haben was born in the year 1988 in California. Today, she is a 28-year-old deaf-blind advocate, full of gratitude for receiving the chance of growing up in the US. In this country she has found numerous opportunities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and protects their rights.
She attended mainstream public schools in Oakland and used to leave her classes for an hour every day to learn Braille. Later, Haben went on to do B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland. “The schools I attended as a child practiced inclusion. These were mainstream public schools with a diverse population. The teachers provided Braille instruction and all other accommodations I needed. All students deserve access. But a lot of schools today choose not to practise inclusion. We need to change this,” she says…
Experts Weigh In on Website Accessibility
11/13 | Source: RISMedia | Website Accessibility, Mobile Accessibility, Real Estate, WCAG 2.0 | United States
Ninety-five percent of all recent buyers used the internet at some point in their home search—and buyers now may be visiting your website during theirs.
Courts have been split on the issue of equal access to websites. According to Alisa Carr, partner at Leech Tishman in Pittsburgh, Pa. who recently shared her expertise on a panel at the 2016 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, recent cases have mandated that a business’ accessibility obligations extend to its website and mobile applications. Carr recommended companies familiarize themselves with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA posted at www.w3.org, which are a technical standard created by the World Wide Web Consortium to help make sites more accessible.
Scavenger Hunt Raises Awareness about Accessibility
11/14 | Source: Cardinal Courier Online | Higher Education, Awareness, Facilities | New York, United States
On Saturday, Nov. 12, St. John Fisher College hosted the Accessibility Scavenger Hunt to raise awareness about the accessibility of Fisher facilities and help in maneuvering around the campus.
Participants were split into groups of two and sent out to nine different locations around campus, including Kearney Hall. Kearney is a complex building to navigate through, with four floors, multiple staircases, and out-of-commission elevators. This presents a problem for certain individuals that are not able to traverse up the long staircases or navigate through the construction-ridden exterior of the campus.
Upon arrival at the various locations, participants were tasked to take notes and pictures of points of interest to the overall safety and accessibility of campus. Something as simple as a treacherous step that requires a ‘Watch Your Step’ sign or one that improves convenience of walking to class, were of significance…
What It’s Like to Navigate a Hearing-Dominant Society
11/14 | Source: TORONTOIST | Adovcacy, ASL | Toronto, Canada
When I graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., a school that prides itself on being “the world’s only university designed to be barrier-free for deaf and hard of hearing students,” it meant it was time for me to leave the “Deaf Utopia Bubble.”
This bubble of a world meant I had access to American Sign Language nearly 24/7. However, my childhood experiences of being deprived of my culture and community (which I wrote about here) led to a desire to change the future of accessibility for the Deaf community in Canada.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology, I retreated to my hometown for a few months. Of course, I missed having access to my Deaf community on a daily basis. This meant that I didn’t want to stay in my hometown—I wanted to live where I could be around my people: the Deaf community and the queer community. Where was a good place for me to go?…
OMB Issues New Guidance for Websites
11/14 | Source: GCN | Government, Digital Accessibility, Policy, GSA | United States
The Office of Management and Budget issued a new policy governing agencies’ public-facing websites to ensure government’s digital assets are more accessible, secure and functional.
Under the 18-point policy, federal agencies must make sure their websites protect privacy and maintain information security while still being accessible from a variety of devices. The data must be open and searchable, and metrics must be reported regularly to the General Services Administration via GSA’s DotGov Dashboard.In addition, agencies must establish basic governance of their websites and digital services and treat them as part of their overall mission strategy, not just as “discrete individual IT projects.” Agencies also must post those governance plans on their websites under a “Digital Strategy” page.
Furthermore, agencies must keep track of usage data to better understand their users’ needs and behaviors and continually test their websites to make sure those needs are being met. As part of that effort, agencies must participate in GSA’s Digital Analytics Program and deploy tracking code on all their public-facing websites…
Additional Resources
Legal Alert: Impaired Access: ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits on the Rise
11/14 | Source: Sutherland | Website Accessibility, Litigation, ADA Compliance, ADA Title III, Business, Commentary | United States
An increasing number of class action lawsuits have been filed over the past year against private companies by individuals alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for failure to maintain websites that are accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Since early 2015, approximately 240 lawsuits have been filed by a handful of plaintiffs’ firms against companies in the retail, hospitality, and financial services industries alleging ADA violations related to website accessibility.
Most of these suits have resulted in settlements that, in addition to the payment of some amount of financial remuneration to the plaintiffs, require companies to make their websites ADA compliant. The steady shift in our economy from traditional brick-and-mortar stores to online commerce has brought increased attention to website accessibility. Given the increasing number of website accessibility suits, it is important for any company that maintains a web presence that constitutes a “place of public accommodation” to understand the requirements of the ADA.
Title III of the ADA, which was enacted in 1990, prohibits discrimination against the disabled, which includes the blind and vision impaired, in places of public accommodation:..
Toolkit Outlines Steps for Ensuring Accessibility
11/14 | Source: eSchool News | Education, K-12, Digital Accessibility, Procurement, Digital Learning | United States
Accessibility is a “critical key” when it comes to leveraging technology for all students — including those with disabilities, according to a new toolkit offering accessibility resources and tips for state and district education leaders.
Accessibility refers to ensuring materials, devices, digital tools and platforms are designed to provide equal educational opportunity for all students, as well as to accommodate the learning needs of students with different abilities, according to the toolkit from CoSN, the American Institutes of Research and the Center on Technology and Disability (CTD).
Digital accessibility improves student learning, improves user experience, expands website visibility, and saves time and money. The toolkit shares why this effort is important today, identify the legal requirements for digital accessibility, describe the benefits of digital accessibility, and explain the procurement of such technology…
Additional Resources
Does Your Bank’s Website Violate Americans with Disabilities Act?
11/15 | Source: The National Law Review | Banking, ADA Violation, Litigation, DOJ, Commentary | United States
There has been a recent surge in claims brought by people with visual and hearing impairments alleging that company websites violate the accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Until now, these claims have typically been made against companies outside of the banking industry. We recently learned, however, that at least one community bank in Texas has received a demand letter from a consumer-protection law firm alleging that the bank’s website does not comply with accessibility standards that are currently under consideration by the Department of Justice (DOJ). In light of the present uncertainty as to the future website accessibility standards under the ADA, we expect more community banks will receive similar claims or threats of claims.
Banks are considered places of “public accommodations” under the ADA. As such, most bank websites must comply with the ADA, which includes being accessible to people with visual and hearing impairments. Unfortunately, there are currently no regulations or standards explaining precisely what a website must provide to avoid violating the ADA. The DOJ, which enforces the ADA, announced that it does not expect to publish regulations concerning the accessibility of businesses’ websites until 2018….
Additional Resources
Oxford University’s Lip-Reading AI is More Accurate Than Humans, but Still Has a Way to Go
11/15 | Source: QUARTZ | Innovation, Assistive Technology, Artificial Intelligence | England, United Kingdom
Even professional lip-readers can figure out only 20% to 60% of what a person is saying. Slight movements of a person’s lips at the speed of natural speech are immensely difficult to reliably understand, especially from a distance or if the lips are obscured. And lip-reading isn’t just a plot point in NCIS: It’s an essential tool to understand the world for the hearing-impaired, and if automated reliably, could help millions.
A new paper from the University of Oxford (with funding from Alphabet’s DeepMind) details an artificial intelligence system, called LipNet, that watches video of a person speaking and matches text to the movement of their mouth with 93.4% accuracy.
The previous state of the art system operated word-by-word, and had an accuracy of 79.6%. The Oxford researchers say the success of their new system is a different way of thinking about the problem: Instead of teaching the AI each mouth movement using a system of visual phonemes, they built it to process whole sentences at a time. That allowed the AI to teach itself what letter corresponds to each slight mouth movement…
Groups Issue Guidance on Making Digital Learning Accessible to All
11/16 | Source: THE JOURNAL | Education, K-12, Digital Accessibility, Procurement, Digital Learning | United States
Two organizations have put together a 20-page guide to help steer state and district education leaders toward thinking about how to embed accessibility into their decision-making. The “Digital Accessibility Toolkit” was published by the Consortium on School Networking (CoSN) and the Center on Technology and Disability (CTD).
While accessibility encompasses three specific groups of learners — those with disabilities, English language learners and students from under-resourced communities — the upshot of choosing accessible products is that all students actually benefit, the report stated. Universal design for learning (UDL), also known as “born accessible” or “inclusive design,” “seeks to level the playing field for all students” in three ways:…
Disability Access for Online Students
11/17 | Source: Global Accessibility News | Higher Education, Digital Learning, Online Courses | Oregon, United States
Oregon State University Extended Campus can not only provide an education that is within reach, but understands the kind of degree program that best fits your lifestyle, educational needs and goals for the future.
OSU is a nationally-recognized premier teaching, research and service outreach institution located in Corvallis, Oregon. Through Ecampus, OSU brings quality contemporary education to you no matter where you live and online courses that offer services designed to provide access and promote student achievement. OSU Ecampus courses are also supported by OSU Disability Access Services, which can accommodate students with documented disabilities.
Throughout the year, we offer more than 1,000 online courses in more than 90 subjects which are accredited and taught by OSU’s distinguished faculty. Our award-winning programs are nationally acclaimed, serving students in all 50 states and around the world….
Republicans Make Blind Americans Wait For Video Accessibility Until After Trump Takes Office
11/17 | Source: Politicus USA | Politics, Video Accessibility, Government, Commentary | United States
Millions of blind and visually impaired Americans will be forced to wait for video accessibility access until after Donald Trump takes office thanks to Republican FCC commissioners. The Hill reported that the Republican FCC commissioners took a request that controversial items be dropped from the agenda until the new administration takes office to the extreme.
After reviewing the letters, the FCC announced that it was deleting almost all of the agenda items from Thursday’s open meeting. This included a consideration of pricing plans for business data services—special access lines which businesses use to transfer large amounts of data—and implementing video accessibility measures for visually impaired consumers…
The Moodle Accessibility Pledge At “Mizzou”
11/17 | Source: MOODLE NEWS | Higher Education, Accessible Elearning, Digital Accessibility | Missouri, United States
The Moodle Accessibility Collaboration Group, MACG, is a monthly effort from Moodlers interested in improving the accessibility and usability of the LMS with visible results. Moodlerooms’ magazine E-Learn features an interview with Marlene Zentz, Senior Instructional Designer and Accessibility Specialist at the University of Missouri. Her work with Mizzou includes being a liaison between MACG and UMOnline, the univesity’s home Moodle.
Zentz reports on the usability improvements they enjoy after they implemented Moodlerooms. Most of them are the result of “born accessible” theme “Snap”, Moodlerooms’ default and one among Moodle’s favorites. (Snap is Open Source.) Moodlerooms makes sure Snap is constantly fixing and improving, to be as responsive and intuitive as possible for anyone…
Custom Wheelchair Allows Young Northsider to Pursue Audiovisual Aspirations
11/17 | Source: Northside Sun | Innovation, K-12, Assistive Technology | Mississippi, United States
With a flick of his wrist, Adam Malone rises from sitting to standing. Smiling, he demonstrates how he’s able to greet someone eye-to-eye instead of looking up at them from his power wheelchair. It’s a welcome change for the 15-year-old, and he has physical therapist Heather Maloney of Madison to thank for the new perspective.
As a certified assistive technology professional at Methodist Rehabilitation Center (MRC), Maloney custom-fits wheelchairs to suit the health and lifestyle needs of her clients. In Adam’s case, that meant one that would accommodate the activities of a busy high school student – particularly his role as a sideline videographer for the Jackson Prep football team.
A sophomore at Prep, Adam saw a notice last year about the school’s Broadcast Club. “There was a meeting after school, so I went to see what it was all about,” he said. “I learned that they were going to do video recordings and live streaming of the football games, and I knew I wanted to do that.” Club sponsor Bobby Gross, director of instructional and media technology at Jackson Prep, said as many as 18 to 20 kids participate in the club. And Adam is a standout. “I’ve never seen anyone as determined as Adam,” Gross said. “We’ve had to make some adaptations, but we’re making it work and he’s doing a great job.” …
Regional Housing Official Promotes Accessible Homes
11/17 | Source: Altoona Mirror | Fair Housing, Facilities | Pennsylvania, United States
Making homes accessible obviously benefits people who are disabled. It also benefits those who are able-bodied, according to an accessibility expert who spoke at a recent workshop for landlords.
It benefits people who can walk and see and hear because, as taxpayers, those able-bodied people won’t need to support disabled people who get jobs with the help of accessible housing — eliminating the need for them to collect welfare, Supplemental Security Income and food stamps, said Howard Ermin, regional housing coordinator for the Self-Determination Housing Project of Pennsylvania.
Accessible housing also benefits able-bodied people because they can more easily entertain visitors who are disabled — including elderly relatives, said Ermin, whose organization has recently been emphasizing the value of “visitibility.”…
Accessibility Pages
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Pepsi
- General Motors
- Dell
- Yahoo
- BlueJeans
- Thomson Reuters
- Bloomberg-BNA
- Accenture
- Deloitte
- Disability News Service
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