Accessibility in the News—02/16/17.
The admonition to get one’s website “ADA compliant” is spanning industries. This week, articles covered banking, retail, medical, education, and more. While U.S. government agencies have had clear website accessibility requirements in place, businesses and corporations are often caught off guard by demand letters or litigation. Industry publications are urging members to take a proactive approach to website accessibility: get an audit, follow a checklist, be informed. But the sole motivation doesn’t have to be avoiding litigation. As a couple of articles pointed out, website accessibility also advances customer care and offers a more welcoming experience to a larger audience.
Back in the public sector, there are still gaps, and one child advocate is filing complaints in federal court against school districts with websites that aren’t accessible to students (and presumably, parents) with disabilities.
One of the larger education stories dove into the deep end of politics. The U.S. government website offering information on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) disappeared after the contentious appointment of a new education chief. The site has since been restored, with technical glitches as the stated cause.
Online and off, though, goodwill to neighbors shone brightly. Check out the stories of the substitute bus driver, the Valentine’s fundraiser, and the open arms of Austin, supported in substantial ways by a locally born nonprofit that has helped advance accessible technology for 18 years. And, outside the U.S., broadcasters are setting up rules on making audiovisual content more accessible.
This and more, below…
AITN Quote of the Week
When speaking of disabilities, the blind and their needs are most often used as an example. It is deceivingly simplistic since accessibility is something most of the population can benefit from.
― Marcus Österberg
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Austin is Fast Becoming the Most Livable, Accessible, and Inclusive City in the U.S.
2/8 | Source: Austin Startups | Accessibility, Disability Inclusion, Advocacy | Texas
We are at a historic moment in inclusive social and economic development, fueled by technological advances. Like so many municipalities across our nation, the City of Austin seeks to improve livability, workability, and sustainability. However, Austin has work to do. For far too long Austin has failed to consider the unique ways physical and social barriers limit the participation of persons with disabilities and other historically underserved populations from accessing and enjoying city benefits, services, and products. As well, the lack of participation of persons with disabilities, people of color and other equity groups in Austin’s urban affairs is one of the biggest challenges facing our central Texas city.
Austin is extremely good at changing in a way that renews our unique character. In fact, if Austin did not have this incredible capacity to change, with all the growth and change its seen, the city probably would have already lost its spirit and collective soul long ago. The residents of Austin want to preserve and renew the spirit and soul of the city…
Website for Disabled Kids Disappears as DeVos Takes Office
2/10 | Source: Seattle PI | Education, Government/Politics, DOE, IDEA | United States
A U.S. Department of Education website, empowering families of students with disabilities, has disappeared — and already embattled Trump education chief Betsy DeVos may be to blame. U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell want to know what happened to the vanished website, and have asked Education Secretary DeVos to put it back up.
The website was set up under President George W. Bush so educators, advocates and parents could get a “one-stop” explanation on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), as well as know their rights under the disability law. The resource has been inexplicably taken away. In a letter to DeVos — whose confirmation both senators vocally opposed — Cantwell and Murray explained:
“We are deeply concerned that prior to your confirmation and arrival at the Department, the centralized resource website for the IDEA became inaccessible to the public for more than a week, and is now redirecting people to a site for the Office of Special Education Programs…
Financial Institutions Can Increase Their Market Share and Be ADA Compliant!?
2/10 | Source: CU Insight | Digital Accessibility, Credit Unions/Banks, ADA, DOJ, WCAG | United States
The WCAG, which stand for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, was created by the W3C who develop web standards. The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants to make these guidelines as a standard of making web content more useable for people with disabilities. What does this mean to a credit union? Approximately, 15% of the world’s population live with some form of a disability. Which means that the WCAG is laying out a road map of how to build and design your credit union site to reach and acquire new online and mobile customers.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990. It is a civil rights law which bans any discrimination against individuals, whether by race, color, national origin, sex, religion or age, allowing for equal opportunity across the board. In 2017, roughly 9/10 Americans adults use the internet which mean that the ADA’s reach will need to cover all walks of life including the web…
Thoughts for Our 18th Year
2/13 | Source: Knowbility | Digital Accessibility, Accessibility Awards/Recognition, Advocacy | Texas
Knowbility was incorporated in Feb of 1999 – that makes us 18 years old this month. Much has changed since we dedicated ourselves to the mission of ensuring equal access to technology for people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act was only nine years old. Inspired by the civil rights movement of the African-American community, people with disabilities fought for and won recognition for equal opportunity to participate in modern life. In 1999 it was still unclear how the ADA, signed into law by the first President Bush, would apply to the Internet technologies that were transforming the lives of all citizens. But our community clearly understood the great promise technology advances held for those with disability and worked hard for full inclusion. Knowbility’s advocacy work has been supported and sustained by that promise…
Federal Complaint Alleges School District Website ‘Inaccessible’
2/13 | Source: Palo Alto | Digital Accessibility, Education, Advocacy, OCR | California
A special-education advocate from Michigan who has filed more than 1,000 federal complaints against school districts alleging their websites are inaccessible to students and adults with disabilities has brought her grassroots campaign to Palo Alto.
Marcie Lipsitt, a parent-turned-education advocate, confirmed to the Weekly that she filed a complaint against the district with the Office for Civil Rights, though she is not named in the complaint itself. The federal civil-rights agency notified the district in late January that it was investigating allegations that certain pages on the district’s recently redesigned website are not accessible to people with vision impairments and other disabilities…
Your Practice Website Must be ADA Compliant
2/14 | Source: Diagnostic Imaging | Digital Accessibility, Healthcare/Medical, ADA, Title III | United States
Are small practices required to make their practice web sites accessible to disabled people? The short answer is, yes.
Many practices are unaware that their website has anything to do with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Most think only of your facility and job accommodations are required to be under compliance by ADA.
Under Title III of the Act, “places of public accommodations” cannot exclude people who have disabilities from being able to participate in what is offered to everyone else. A website is public. If your practice has one, it is obligated to comply with ADA, no matter the number of employees or size of the practice. In fact, the law views your website as a piece of real estate for purposes of the ADA…
Service Dogs Trained by Inmates Deliver Valentine’s Day Treats
2/14 | Source: Yahoo News | Service Dogs, Fundraising, Nonprofit | Indiana
Nearly two dozen dogs will deliver close to 650 Valentine’s Day gift boxes throughout the city of Indianapolis as part of Puppy Love Valentine 2017, an annual fundraiser for ICAN, an Indianapolis-based service dog organization.
The valentine-delivering dogs are service dogs currently in training to help people with disabilities ranging from PTSD to diabetes and autism. The dogs are trained in three prisons throughout the Indianapolis area. The Valentine’s Day deliveries are driven to businesses around the city by ICAN staff and volunteers…
Online Campaign Seeks Accessibility Measures in Railways
2/15 | Source: Global Accessibility News | Transit/Transportation, Mobility, Advocacy | Mumbai, India
A wheelchair user young woman from the city has launched an online campaign seeking disability access measures in Indian railways. Virali Modi, the first runner-up at the Miss Wheelchair India contest in 2014, has put up an online petition on change.org. Her plea has even caught the attention of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, who has requested Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to make required changes on “mission mode”. The petition has so far found 94,210 supporters.
Virali, who wanted to become a model and actor but lost her legs due to malaria in 2006, has recounted her ordeal while travelling in trains.
In the petition, she says, “I’ve been groped and manhandled three separate times by porters. They were helping me board the train because Indian trains are not wheelchair accessible. I am a disabled woman living in Mumbai who loves to travel.”…
Fill-In School Bus Driver Builds Girl a Wheelchair Ramp after Seeing Mom Struggle
2/15 | Source: CBS News | Mobility, Education, Community, Personal Account | Tennessee
Some may call it chance, but Verna DeSpain is convinced fate led school bus mechanic Thomas Mitchell to her doorstep last week. The mechanic from Clarksville, Tennessee, fills in as a substitute bus driver for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) when he’s needed. His route occasionally includes bringing a group of special needs children to school.
That’s when he first met DeSpain and her 10-year-old daughter, Lydia, a third-grader who uses a wheelchair. One morning, Mitchell noticed DeSpain, a single mother of two, struggling to carry Lydia’s wheelchair down the steps of their front porch. For some reason, he just couldn’t shake the image from his head…
DOJ Releases ADA Website Accessibility Tools
2/16 | Source: ABA Banking Journal | Banking/Financial Services, ADA, Title II, Title III | United States
The Department of Justice recently published an “ADA Best Practices Tool Kit,” which includes website accessibility guidance and a checklist that can be used to verify compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
While the tool kit is primarily geared toward state and local governments, which are governed by Title II of the ADA, it will be helpful to banks working on improving website accessibility. The DOJ has indicated that the Title II rulemaking will significantly impact the website accessibility standards ultimately promulgated under the Title III regulations, which are expected to be issued in 2018…
UK Retailers Still Failing to Meet Web Accessibility Standards
2/16 | Source: Econsultancy | Digital Accessibility, Retail, Equality Act 2010 | United Kingdom
At the end of 2016 the BBC reported that retailers could be “missing out on £249bn because many are inaccessible to disabled customers”. But what about the digital high street?
With so many barriers in store, shopping online from the comfort of your home is an attractive option. Furthermore, under the Equality Act 2010 all retailers must provide access to their goods online as well as in store. We decided to review the online accessibility of six well known UK retailers to identify the main barriers for online shoppers with disabilities.
New ADA Lawsuits Target Your Website
2/16 | Source: RDW Group | Accessibility Lawsuits/Litigation, Digital Accessibility, ADA, Business, WCAG, DOJ | United States
Enacted in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all public places. Little do many businesses and corporations know, their website is considered a public place, covered by the ADA. Nearly every business and organization is at risk of ADA litigation since nearly all of them host a website and have dedicated mobile apps on the iOS and Android platform.
An increasing number of lawsuits are being filed against organizations whose websites are not accessible to disabled users. Sites that do not comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA guidelines are at risk of litigation and investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)…
Broadcasters and Disability Organisation Draw Up Common Recommendation on Future EU Rules for Audiovisual Access Services
2/16 | Source: EBU | Broadcasting, Multimedia, Digital Accessibility | European Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the European Disability Forum (EDF), and the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) have made a common proposal to improve the accessibility of audiovisual media services for persons with disabilities.
Broadcasters and the umbrella organisation of the European disability movement reached this agreement upon the initiative of the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Petra Kammerevert, who is preparing the European Parliament’s report on the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).
EDF, EBU and ACT (the “signatories”) expect these measures to enhance the accessibility of TV programmes for persons with disabilities, in particular via subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, audio description, spoken subtitles and sign language interpretation, also known as access services…
Ask 4 Questions about Accessing Online Courses on Mobile
2/16 | Source: U.S.News | Higher Education, Online Training, Mobile Accessibility, Accessible Elearning | Oregon
For online learners constantly on the go, being able to access courses on mobile devices is important. Take Christine Mosser, a full-time online bachelor’s student at Oregon State University Ecampus. The 43-year-old District of Columbia resident says she uses the program’s app on either her tablet or smartphone to complete about 85 to 90 percent of her coursework.
“I really like the convenience; I can do it anywhere,” she says. Mosser watches recorded lectures on her tablet, receives notifications when her professor posts grades and participates in discussion boards with classmates on mobile.
Mosser isn’t alone. Many online degree programs offer students mobile apps with most of the same capabilities as the virtual classrooms on their desktops and laptops, experts say…
An Armless Man Couldn’t Carry His Bike up the Stairs. He Says it Cost Him His Job.
2/16 | Source: The Washington Post | Workforce/Employment, Disability Rights, ADA, Litigation | Oregon
Michael Trimble’s astonishment oozed from the legal jargon of the court documents he filed last week. His employers had just told him he was being fired because he refused to comply with simple requests about his bike. It would be nice, the Gresham, Ore., man said, if he could carry it up a back flight of stairs to avoid coming through the lobby of the building or speeding through a landscaped pavilion out front. When he balked, they asked if he could simply push the bike across the pavilion, he said.
If he couldn’t comply with these minor requests, his employer asked, according to the documents, how could he be trusted to deal with the more complicated requirements of his job?
“How can I push my bike?” he responded. “I don’t have any arms.”…
Retroactive Accommodations under the ADA and Section 504 are Not Required and May Create Liability for Colleges and Universities
2/16 | Source: Lexology | ADA, Section 504, Higher Education | United States
Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), colleges and universities have a general duty to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and students with a qualifying disability. Unlike in the K-12 setting where schools are required to affirmatively address a student’s potential need for accommodations, in higher education, the ADA and Section 504 generally require a student to self-identify his or her disability, request accommodations, and then participate in an interactive process with the institution to determine whether and to what extent accommodations will be provided.
Students with various disabilities (often related to a psychiatric or mental health condition) sometimes request accommodations relating to class attendance policies, test-taking, and course modification only after a significant portion of a semester or term has passed. Oftentimes, the request for accommodation comes when the student has already incurred absences, performed poorly on tests, or otherwise failed to meet the academic expectations of the course…
Presentation Explains Life with a Visual Impairment
2/16 | Source: The Communicator | Nonprofit, Higher Education, Blindness/Visual Impairment, Personal Account | Indiana
Fred Fulkerson, 48, an IPFW student, has been blind since birth. Since moving to Fort Wayne 12 years ago, he has found a role using his personal experience to help others with disabilities. He now works for The League, a non-profit organization that equips people with disabilities to live independently.
When Fulkerson came to Fort Wayne, he got in touch with the League in order to see what services were available to him. The League is an independent Fort Wayne organization founded in 1950, according to their website. It began specifically to help those with vision impairment. It has since expanded to include services for those with many types of disabilities, Fulkerson said. It has state funding, with both salaried positions and volunteers.
“We try to teach people to learn how to live as independently as possible to keep people out of nursing homes,” Fulkerson said…
I was Mocked, Stigmatized for Having a Cerebral Palsy Child —Amina Bello, Kogi First lady
2/16 | Source: Vanguard | NGO, Advocacy, Cerebral Palsy, Parenting | Kogi, Nigeria
The wife of Kogi State Governor, Barrister Amina Oyize Bello, is the founder of Hayat Foundation, a Non Governmental Organisation, NGO, named after her first son, Hayatula Olarize Bello. 10-year-old Hayatula Olarize Bello was born a special child upon discovery that he has cerebral palsy.
Since his birth, Mrs. Bello has gone through a lot of trials such as stigmatisation for having a cerebral palsy child, starting from the immediate home and even as outsiders gather to whisper when the young Hayatula walks around. But rather than see this as an issue of discomfort, this astute woman displayed rare courage by turning her situation to advocacy and a voice for this set of special people. She kicked against situations where parents would lock children with cerebral palsy or other forms of deformities behind closed doors…
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