Accessibility Policy
Policy
In response to the need to insure equal access to
electronic and information technologies, Office of
Disability Concerns (O.H.C.) utilizes a set of
standards for Web page design. Just as environmental
obstacles have inhibited individuals with disabilities,
the Web poses an entirely new set of obstacles. In
recognition of those individuals with visual, physical
or developmental disabilities O.D.C. has adopted a
policy to make government information accessible to all.
It has been estimated that 54 million people or 20.6
percent of all Americans have some level of disability.
According to the Disability Statistics Center:
People with disabilities will work in greater numbers,
in part because of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). Between 1991 and 1994, the number of disabled
Americans employed increased by more than 1.1 million,
according to the Census Bureau. Employment rates for
young adults with severe disabilities are triple that of
their older counterparts.
Education rates for people with disabilities are
increasing: 75 percent of them finished high school in
1994, up from 60% in 1986; their college enrollment
leapt from 29 percent to 44 percent.
Technological advances are eliminating many of the
physical and informational barriers that have long
existed for people with disabilities.
Public awareness of disability issues is growing and
changing.
America's population is aging, and disability increases
with age. The number of Americans aged 65 and older is
projected to increase 135% between 1995 and 2050,
according to the Census Bureau.
Instructions will be provided for individuals with
disabilities, visual disabilities and for those who are
deaf or hard of hearing.
Design Standards
These standards are influenced by those recommended by
the W3C and Access Board Section 508 Guidelines. The
Access Board is responsible for developing the standards
outlined by the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1998.
Universal design calls for appropriate use auxiliary
aids and services where necessary to ensure
communication.
O.D.C. has adopted the Design of HTML Pages to increase
accessibility to users with disabilities as the primary
guideline to meet the objectives of the Universal Access
for State Design policy. These published guidelines are
maintained by professionals trained in the area of
assistive and information technology.
O.D.C. embraces these standards and will be evaluating
our site on a regular basis, increasing the opportunity
for all individuals to access information over the
Internet. The Universal Access Design Standards are
being integrated into this web site and will continue to
evolve as new technologies and opportunities emerge.
(1) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall
be provided via "alt" (alternative text attribute), "longdesc"
(long description tag), or in element content.
(2) Web pages shall be designed so that all information
required for navigation or meaning is not dependent on
the ability to identify specific colors.
(3) Changes in the natural language (e.g., English to
French) of a document's text and any text equivalents
shall be clearly identified.
(4) Documents shall be organized so they are readable
without requiring an associated style sheet.
(5) Web pages shall update equivalents for dynamic
content whenever the dynamic content changes.
(6) Redundant text links shall be provided for each
active region of a server-side image map.
(7) Client-side image maps shall be used whenever
possible in place of server-side image maps.
(8) Data tables shall provide identification of row and
column headers.
(9) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and
header cells for data tables that have two or more
logical levels of row or column headers.
(10) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates
frame identification and navigation.
(11) Pages shall be usable when scripts, applets, or
other programmatic objects are turned off or are not
supported, or shall provide equivalent information on an
alternative accessible page.
(12) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia
presentation shall be synchronized with the
presentation.
(13) An appropriate method shall be used to facilitate
the easy tracking of page content that provides users of
assistive technology the option to skip repetitive
navigation links.
(14) Background colors will be avoided since color
schemes can create problems with legibility.
(15) Multiple browser testing will be conducted on the
current versions of Netscape Navigator, Internet
Explorer and Lynx.
In addition to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,
O.D.C. recognizes Section 508 standards are more
specific in specific areas:
Flicker 1194.22 (j) Pages shall be designed to avoid
causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater
than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
Skip Navigation 1194.22 (o) A method shall be provided
that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links
Timed Responses 1194.22 (p) When a timed response is
required, a user shall be alerted and given sufficient
time to indicate more time is required.
NOTE: While the content and services located directly on
this site comply, the portal cannot guarantee that links
to sites outside the portal architecture are accessible.
O.D.C. is not responsible for those entities.
Resources:
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI/
Access Board http://www.access-board.gov/
Section 508 http://www.section508.gov/
HELP US ASSIST YOU
If you are having difficulty accessing our website,
please contact our Information Systems Network
Management Specialist,
webmaster.ohc@ohc.state.ok.us. Please include as
much information as you can so we can identify the
problem and try to resolve it. Our office will contact
you by email or phone.
If we are unable to resolve your issue you may file a
complaint by contacting the Accessibility Compliance
Representative by phone or by email. The email to file a
complaint is
dalene.barton@ohc.state.ok.us.
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