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Re: Progress? was: DOJ issues web accessibility guidance

for

From: Melissa Helquist
Date: Mar 24, 2022 11:24AM

Another perspective on the DOJ's guidance: There is a lot of recent
national/ legislative support for digital equity, including $2.75 billion
in funding for digital equity and digital inclusion. I see this statement
as part of that effort. I think the guidance will be particularly useful
for local government and non-profit agencies working on digital equity who
don't have a solid background in web accessibility.

A couple of information items on the digital equity act:

- Digital Equity Act <https://www.digitalequityact.org/>
- National Law Review: Digital Equity Act
<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/digital-equity-act>)


On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 8:02 AM Jeff Kline < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> I believe that the DoJ thinks it is because they decided to create and
> publish this guidance. How much so remains to be seen, but clearly, this
> action falls way short of what is really needed….namely digital
> accessibility regulations included in the ADA.
>
> Regards,
>
>
> [A picture containing text, black, clock Description automatically
> generated]
> <EMAIL REMOVED>
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>
> From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > on behalf of
> David Engebretson Jr. < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 7:39 PM
> To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Progress? was: DOJ issues web accessibility guidance
> So you are saying, "Yes" change is slow. I agree.
>
> Is this announcement progress in your opinion?
>
> Thanks,
> David
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > On Behalf Of
> Jeff
> Kline
> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 5:14 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Progress? was: DOJ issues web accessibility guidance
>
> Well, progress is always being made, but the pace remains slow, especially
> considering how long ICT accessibility has been around (US Section 508 was
> passed into rule with an effective date in the year 2000.
>
> It's important to keep in mind that the ADA is a regulation and not a
> federal agency, but the DoJ and DoL are probably the entities mostly
> associated with enforcement.
>
> With regard to education, agencies such as the US General Services
> Administration (GSA) and the US Access Board(creators of US Section 508)
> provide webinars and online training sessions from time to time on various
> digital accessibility (perhaps more so for federal employees as I have seen
> in the past), but most of the training that is available comes from various
> NGOs and the accessibility focused private sector entities.some free and
> some for fee. Accessibility conferences such as CSUN, M-enabling, and
> AccessU also provide good opportunities for learning and training on a wide
> variety of digital accessibility topics.
>
> Certainly, codifying digital accessibility standards (and policy
> requirements) into the ADA and beyond Section 508 (which is a federal
> procurement regulation where compliance is required but not all that well
> enforced) would make a HUGE difference and is what we in the US are hoping
> will happen someday. If and when that happens, it should drive lots more
> training across the board.
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
> [A picture containing text, black, clock Description automatically
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> <EMAIL REMOVED>
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>
> From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > on behalf of
> David
> Engebretson Jr. < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 3:23 PM
> To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> Subject: [WebAIM] Progress? was: DOJ issues web accessibility guidance I
> wonder: Has anyone ever seen the DOJ and the ADA collaborate to provide
> educational guidance for web accessibility in the past?
>
> I'm not a historian and I've only been working in the field of web
> accessibility for 5 years. I've struggled with web accessibility for 25
> years but I think that my personal experience isn't important. What's
> important to me is that some kind of progress is being made.
>
> To me this seems like big progress. Am I mistaken?
>
> I appreciate all feedback,
> David
>
>
> > > at
> http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >
> > > > > > > > >


--
Melissa Helquist
<EMAIL REMOVED>
801-875-1281