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Thread: Standards for Accessible Laws?
Number of posts in this thread: 9 (In chronological order)
From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Fri, Dec 14 2018 12:12PM
Subject: Standards for Accessible Laws?
No previous message | Next message →
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
From: glen walker
Date: Fri, Dec 14 2018 2:52PM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
So in summary, you're saying a legal website should follow WCAG AA.
Wouldn't it be ironic for a law firm to be sued because their website was
not accessible.
From: Noble,Stephen L.
Date: Fri, Dec 14 2018 3:23PM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML: https://www.fdlp.gov/news-and-events/3560-united-states-legislative-markup-xml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Sat, Dec 15 2018 4:42AM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
Hi Glen,
I asked for more than WCAG. I search for usability. Yet there is no
accessibility in the laws I had to deal with and there is no consciousness
by the screen reader users I know, who have to deal with these laws.
So I'm glad to hear from best practise or standards before I make my own
usability tests. I'm sure to convince my blind lawyers with accessible laes.
Wolfgang
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von glen walker
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 22:53
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
So in summary, you're saying a legal website should follow WCAG AA.
Wouldn't it be ironic for a law firm to be sued because their website was
not accessible.
From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Sat, Dec 15 2018 9:36AM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
Hi Steve,
Thanks for Your link. Found some interesting things about US programs in
general.
But could You please precise, where I can find standards for accessible law
presentation within those projects? Had no success at all.
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Noble,Stephen L.
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 23:23
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts
to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML:
https://www.fdlp.gov/news-and-events/3560-united-states-legislative-markup-x
ml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation
Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There
are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of
Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__list.webaim.org_&d=DwICA
g&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI50vpRdydglG2RH
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eSUMSIICoPSeCOhvlcbaAhsWe9v-r4SA0&e=
List archives at
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From: chagnon@pubcom.com
Date: Sat, Dec 15 2018 11:47AM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
Given that in the US, Congress and its sub agencies (Govt Publishing Office,
Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, etc.) are exempt from all
laws, I don't know of anything on the books at the federal level re:
accessibility of legislation. These agencies themselves voluntarily adopt
legislation, such as Sec. 508 and equal employment, but they are not
required by law to do so.
Example: The US Federal Register https://www.federalregister.gov/
Not only are the Register's PDFs untagged, but the website itself has
accessibility issues.
So if the agency that records and publishes our US federal legislation
doesn't make the information accessible, I wonder how likely it is that
there would be any US federal standards for accessibility of legislation.
Related: see the US federal government's style manual for other publishing
requirements at
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL
-2016.pdf
Doesn't have one word about accessibility, but it does have a section on
formatting the Congressional Record.
Hint: we here in Washington just make the laws for you "little people." We
don't actually practice them! <sarcastic grin>
Bevi Chagnon, founder/CEO | = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
consulting training development design sec. 508 services
Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes
Latest blog-newsletter Accessibility Tips at www.PubCom.com/blog
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
Wolfgang Berndorfer
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2018 11:37 AM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Hi Steve,
Thanks for Your link. Found some interesting things about US programs in
general.
But could You please precise, where I can find standards for accessible law
presentation within those projects? Had no success at all.
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Noble,Stephen L.
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 23:23
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts
to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML:
https://www.fdlp.gov/news-and-events/3560-united-states-legislative-markup-x
ml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation
Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There
are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of
Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__list.webaim.org_&d=DwICA
g&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI50vpRdydglG2RH
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eSUMSIICoPSeCOhvlcbaAhsWe9v-r4SA0&e=
List archives at
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From: Noble,Stephen L.
Date: Sat, Dec 15 2018 6:42PM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
I assume that these XML vocabularies are in ongoing development, but I don't know the extent to which some people from the accessibility community have been involved in the project to ensure that accessibility is one of the goals. This is the road that other document standards like MathML, the Digital Talking Book (DAISY) and now EPUB standards have evolved to support accessibility in various types of digital content. But I have had not direct involvement in the USML standard, so I cannot comment from direct knowledge. Nonetheless, one would hope that since the US government requires all federal agencies to abide by Section 508, there would be an impetus to ensure the USML standard will support the US accessibility requirements.
Sorry that I don't have enough information to answer the specifics of your question...
--Steve Noble
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2018 11:36 AM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Hi Steve,
Thanks for Your link. Found some interesting things about US programs in
general.
But could You please precise, where I can find standards for accessible law
presentation within those projects? Had no success at all.
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Noble,Stephen L.
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 23:23
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts
to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.fdlp.gov_news-2Dand-2Devents_3560-2Dunited-2Dstates-2Dlegislative-2Dmarkup-2Dx&d=DwIFAw&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI50vpRdydglG2RHA1T81UHrTuRDeUqW4&m=ZhmVQePKpLId_304581Uv7H1xVIWAKqYUMVeHqeCg7Y&s=x_Lqs4t_3qFHvp9uE1xDzhDy_ZQQR3oM6dbk3rbz1f0&e=
ml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation
Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There
are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of
Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__list.webaim.org_&d=DwICA
g&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI50vpRdydglG2RH
A1T81UHrTuRDeUqW4&m=7QROXoMrKPhLh9nA6_BFKxmrMTKZEuU2Qcb0m-vGyO8&s=2AgU991jNk
eSUMSIICoPSeCOhvlcbaAhsWe9v-r4SA0&e=
List archives at
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chives&d=DwICAg&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI
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From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Sun, Dec 16 2018 11:59AM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | Next message →
Sounds unbelievable! Is there no citizen or lawyer working with AT demanding
accessible laws in the USA or EU?
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Gesendet: Samstag, 15. Dezember 2018 19:47
An: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Given that in the US, Congress and its sub agencies (Govt Publishing Office,
Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, etc.) are exempt from all
laws, I don't know of anything on the books at the federal level re:
accessibility of legislation. These agencies themselves voluntarily adopt
legislation, such as Sec. 508 and equal employment, but they are not
required by law to do so.
Example: The US Federal Register https://www.federalregister.gov/
Not only are the Register's PDFs untagged, but the website itself has
accessibility issues.
So if the agency that records and publishes our US federal legislation
doesn't make the information accessible, I wonder how likely it is that
there would be any US federal standards for accessibility of legislation.
Related: see the US federal government's style manual for other publishing
requirements at
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL
-2016.pdf
Doesn't have one word about accessibility, but it does have a section on
formatting the Congressional Record.
Hint: we here in Washington just make the laws for you "little people." We
don't actually practice them! <sarcastic grin>
Bevi Chagnon, founder/CEO | = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
consulting training development design sec. 508 services
Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes
Latest blog-newsletter Accessibility Tips at www.PubCom.com/blog
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
Wolfgang Berndorfer
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2018 11:37 AM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Hi Steve,
Thanks for Your link. Found some interesting things about US programs in
general.
But could You please precise, where I can find standards for accessible law
presentation within those projects? Had no success at all.
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Noble,Stephen L.
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 23:23
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts
to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML:
https://www.fdlp.gov/news-and-events/3560-united-states-legislative-markup-x
ml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation
Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There
are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of
Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__list.webaim.org_&d=DwICA
g&c=OAG1LQNACBDguGvBeNj18Swhr9TMTjS-x4O_KuapPgY&r=67olWPWhVEsI50vpRdydglG2RH
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eSUMSIICoPSeCOhvlcbaAhsWe9v-r4SA0&e=
List archives at
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From: Wolfgang Berndorfer
Date: Wed, Dec 19 2018 2:20PM
Subject: Re: Standards for Accessible Laws?
← Previous message | No next message
Now that there where no more responses I need to get verbose to collect my
thoughts: A supplement and a proposals for development of accessible
legistic documents:
1. Accessibility and laws in the European Union:
Lets have a look on the Directive 2016/2102 (accessibility of the websites
and mobile applications of public sector bodies):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32016L2102
You see on this side a table with 24 colums for the available languages of
the document and 3 rows for the corrsponding file formats HTML, PDF and the
official journal (OJ).
Well, You see it, if You have visual approach. If you dont see or need
tabulator-access, You have to tab 24 or 48 or 72 times to get the related
file type in Your language. The table You might see, is not a table to get.
Next in fact, then You have a HTML or PDF version of the Directive
2016/2102. Surprise: No semantic heading, list or anything else in the
directive for accessibility. Really surprised?
2. How to improve legistic documents?
Is there any need for accessible laws at all? Nearly 20 years after WCAG 1.0
neither ADA in the USA nor EAA in Europe rsulted in request for a11y among
students, professionals or citizens. I'd assume YES, as soon as there was
the needed knowledge about the possibilities and advantages. There was no
request for smart phones in my youth 40 years ago. Nobody dreamed
realistically of the possibilities and advantages of smart phones then. So
knowledge about a11y claims and AT opportunities need to be increased.
Seems, there is bad practise internationally and habituaqlly conditioned.
And as far as I researched and got feedback within this discussion thread,
there are no standards to improve the a11y of laws and other legical
documents. Is this a problem? Yes, but it's also a opportunity to create
international standards before each country creates it's own habitual
standard.
But who developes the standards? They should be build up on WCAG and
usability tests with AT users. Probably there are not many lawyers out there
in this discussion forum. But surely many know blind citizens with legistic
interests and hopefully some project managers got interested.
Wolfgang-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Wolfgang Berndorfer
Gesendet: Sonntag, 16. Dezember 2018 19:59
An: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Sounds unbelievable! Is there no citizen or lawyer working with AT demanding
accessible laws in the USA or EU?
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Gesendet: Samstag, 15. Dezember 2018 19:47
An: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Given that in the US, Congress and its sub agencies (Govt Publishing Office,
Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, etc.) are exempt from all
laws, I don't know of anything on the books at the federal level re:
accessibility of legislation. These agencies themselves voluntarily adopt
legislation, such as Sec. 508 and equal employment, but they are not
required by law to do so.
Example: The US Federal Register https://www.federalregister.gov/
Not only are the Register's PDFs untagged, but the website itself has
accessibility issues.
So if the agency that records and publishes our US federal legislation
doesn't make the information accessible, I wonder how likely it is that
there would be any US federal standards for accessibility of legislation.
Related: see the US federal government's style manual for other publishing
requirements at
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-STYLEMANUAL-2016/pdf/GPO-STYLEMANUAL
-2016.pdf
Doesn't have one word about accessibility, but it does have a section on
formatting the Congressional Record.
Hint: we here in Washington just make the laws for you "little people." We
don't actually practice them! <sarcastic grin>
Bevi Chagnon, founder/CEO | = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
PubCom: Technologists for Accessible Design + Publishing
consulting training development design sec. 508 services
Upcoming classes at www.PubCom.com/classes
Latest blog-newsletter Accessibility Tips at www.PubCom.com/blog
-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
Wolfgang Berndorfer
Sent: Saturday, December 15, 2018 11:37 AM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Hi Steve,
Thanks for Your link. Found some interesting things about US programs in
general.
But could You please precise, where I can find standards for accessible law
presentation within those projects? Had no success at all.
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] Im Auftrag
von Noble,Stephen L.
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. Dezember 2018 23:23
An: WebAIM Discussion List
Betreff: Re: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
I would think the first thing would be to piggy back on the current efforts
to implement United States Legislative Markup (USLM) XML:
https://www.fdlp.gov/news-and-events/3560-united-states-legislative-markup-x
ml
Of course, I know the Brits have their own version...Crown Legislation
Markup Language, but I don't know if other countries have their own. There
are surely commonalities that can be mapped.
--Steve Noble
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > on behalf of
Wolfgang Berndorfer < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2018 2:12 PM
To: 'WebAIM Discussion List'
Subject: [WebAIM] Standards for Accessible Laws?
Does anybody know about specific standards of how to present LAWS
accessible?
Perhaps I was just unlucky, but I never found a law which was presented
according to WCAG standards, not even in Anti-Discrimination-Laws. No
heading is semantically a heading and no list a list.
So I searched for standards to advice governments and their technical and
legal departments how to make laws accessible. No matching results.
All the blind lawyers I asked, navigate from paragraph to paragraph via
CTRL+F. None ever complained. Seems they don't know how to use their AT
efficiently or they are too used to suffering.
So if there are no standards I suggest:
1. Provide an accessible HTML version of the law. PDF and other formats need
more effort and don't mean more comfort.
2. The title of the law in the document gets <h1>.
3. If the law contains sections, the heading of the section gets <h2>.
4. If the law contains sections, the heading of each paragraph gets <h3>,
otherwise <h2> .
5. The number of the paragraph and it's title are contained within ONE
heading element.
6. Titles for meta information's about the law like short- and long title,
abstracts in foreign languages, . get <h6>. Means: Only the pure law gets
the meaningful heading hierarchy.
7. Lists of articles within a paragraph are contained in a <ol> with the
fitting CSS list-style-type. (Or is this wrong, since CSS should not convey
content, like the number of the article?)
8. References to passages of the law or other laws are linked in an <a
href.>.
9. Tables, diagrams, . get the necessary accessibility features.
TX for infos & thoughts!
Wolfgang
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