1. Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 Thurs., February 23, 2017
What does it mean for me?
Thurs., February 23, 2017
Donna Eyestone
OEI Accessibility Course Evaluator & Faculty, Lake Tahoe Community College

2. 508/255 Refresh - What is changing?
Requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) covered by:
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - electronic and information technology procured by the federal government, including computer hardware and software, websites, multimedia such as video, phone systems, and copiers
Section 255 of the Communication Act - telecommunications products and services, and apply to manufacturers of telecommunication equipment.

3. Goals of the Refresh
Enhancing accessibility to information and communication technology (ICT) for people with disabilities
Making the requirements easier to understand and follow
Updating the requirements so that they stay abreast of the ever- changing nature of the technologies covered; and
Harmonizing the requirements with other standards in the U.S. and abroad.

4. Who are they Harmonizing with?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Decision to incorporate Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements to websites, as well as to non-web electronic documents and software
Level A (minimum) – the most basic web accessibility features
Level AA (mid-range) – deals with the biggest and most common barriers for disabled users
Level AAA (highest) – the highest level of web accessibility

5. History of Parallel Changes
Several organizations have been working in parallel on these standards since Original Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines
(Access Board) –Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines
(W3C) – Final version of WCAG 1.0
(Access Board) – Original Section 508 Standards
(W3C) – Final version of WCAG 2.0
(W3C) – Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies
(Access Board) – Final rule published in Federal Register

6. Standards for @ONE and OEI
Both OEI looked in depth at both:
508 checklist for HTML
WCAG 2.0 checklist

7. An Example 508 Standard WCAG 2.0 Checklist
1.1.1 Non-text Content(Level A)
All images, form image buttons, and image map hot spots have appropriate, equivalent alternative text.
Images that do not convey content, are decorative, or contain content that is already conveyed in text are given null alt text (alt="") or implemented as CSS backgrounds. All linked images have descriptive alternative text.
Equivalent alternatives to complex images are provided in context or on a separate (linked and/or referenced via longdesc) page.
Form buttons have a descriptive value.
Form inputs have associated text labels.
Embedded multimedia is identified via accessible text.
Frames are appropriately titled.
A text equivalent for every non- text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).
Every image, applet, embedded media, plug-in, etc. that conveys content has equivalent alternative text (alt, longdesc, or in the element context).
The alt text succinctly describes the content conveyed by the element, without being too verbose (for simple objects) or too vague (for complex objects).
Complex graphics (graphs, charts, etc.) are accompanied by equivalent text, either through a description in the body of the page, a link to a description on a separate page, and/or the longdesc attribute [See Note 1]
Images that have a function (images within links, image buttons, and image map areas) have alternative text which describes the associated function.
Decorative graphics are CSS background images or have null/empty alt values (alt=""). Images with text alternatives in element content are given empty alt text to avoid redundancy.
Transcripts are provided for audio content,

8. The good news!
The OEI Course Design Rubric already is a combination of 508 and WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards!
@ONE and OEI determined where the overlaps were between 508 and WCAG 2.0
Made one exhaustive list, then determined priority
What faculty could control (Section D)
What was outside of faculty control/CMS-related (Section E)
The Creating Accessible Course Content 4-week online course addresses these exact standards

9. OEI Rubric Section D – Content Pages
D1: Heading Styles
Content Pages consistently use heading styles (i.e. Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.).
D2: Lists
Lists are created using the Bullet or Numbered List tool in the rich text editor.
D3: Links
Links are descriptive, and avoid redundancy; links avoid using non-descriptive phrases; and underlining is only used to denote active hyperlinks.
D4: Tables
Table cells designated as row and/or column headers allow screen readers to read table cells in the correct order.
D5: Color Contrast
There is sufficient color contrast between foreground and background to meet Section 508 standards.
D6: Color and meaning
Visual elements (color, bolding, all caps) are not used as the sole way to convey importance or meaning.
D7: Images
Every image (including those used in Pages, Discussions, Quizzes and Assignments) uses descriptive alternative text that includes any text visible in the image, does not contain "image of" or "picture of", and uses "" if the image is purely decorative.

10. OEI Rubric Section D - Files
D8-14: Heading Styles, Lists, Links, Tables, Color Contrast, Color and meaning, Images
D15: Digital Reading Order
Reading order is correctly set so that content is presented in the proper sequence to screen readers and other assistive technologies.
D16: Digital Presentations
Every slide has a unique title, reading order is properly set (slides use pre-set layouts), and all images/charts include alternative text. All text is visible in Outline View so that it can be read by assistive technology.
D17: PDFs
PDFs pass the Adobe Accessibility Check with no substantial errors.
D18: Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets include labels for the rows and columns, detailed labels for any charts, and is accompanied by a textual description of the spreadsheet, drawing attention to key cells, trends, and totals.

11. OEI Rubric Section D - Multimedia
D19: Audio and Video
Accurate transcripts are included for audio, closed captioning for video, and narrative descriptions are available when possible.
D20: Live Broadcast
Live broadcasts include a means for displaying synchronized captions.
D21: Auto-Play
Multimedia is not set to auto-play.
D22: Flashing Content
Multimedia (including gifs and images) do not blink or strobe.

12. OEI Rubric Section D - Accommodation
D23: Instructional Materials Inventory
An Instructional Material Inventory of each inherently inaccessible learning object is provided with a plan that has been reviewed and approved by the DSPS office for accommodating students with disabilities.
Instructional material inventory form available at:

13. OEI Rubric Section E: Institutional Accessibility
E1: LTI/Apps
Any LTI or Apps used in the course have been verified as accessible.
E2: Media Players
Any third-party media players used in the course have been verified as accessible.
E3: Websites
Any third-party websites used in the course have been verified as accessible.
E4: Publisher Content
Any publisher content used in the course has been verified as accessible. A determination of incomplete may result in an additional level of review for OEI Exchange courses.

14. When are the changes need?
January 18, 2018
Remember, not every course or college website will go through an OEI Review. For now, only full-launch colleges with courses going into the Exchange are reviewed. You can use the rubric yourself to help ensure compliance.
OEI Course Design Rubric:
In Canvas (with examples):
PDF:

15. Standards Resources
standards/communications-and-it/about-the-ict- refresh/background/comparison-table-of-wcag2-to-existing-508- standards

16. Evaluation Survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/17SP508-WCAG
Help us improve our webinars by filling out a short online evaluation survey at: