Accessibility Update: Tips and Resources for Making Instruction Accessible to All

e-volution September 13, 2013 Casey Wood, Computer Lab and Assistive Technology coordinator, UDSS Casey.wood@uwyo.edu Brynn Elliott, Communication Access Services coordinator, UDSS belliot4@uwyo.edu Chris Primus, director, UDSS cfprimus@uwyo.edu Recent Court Cases and Settlements From them, we are learning: The Office for Civil Rights is looking more closely at colleges and universities to ensure course materials are accessible. In the South Carolina Technical College Systems agreement with OCR, accessible was characterized as allowing a person with a disability to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use all technology, including websites, instructional materials and online courses, and other electronic and information technology for use by students or prospective students, is accessible. From the Louisiana Tech University settlement agreement. A recent private settlement involving UC Berkeley provides a model for colleges to consider in providing print materials in alternative formats.

The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) offers the following tips and references for colleges to consider:

Have a plan. o Campuses should review their current use of technology, web based tools, and information for accessibility. o Develop a strategic plan for access that is integrated with your institution's overall technology plan and includes time frames for replacing inaccessible technology and opportunities to reprioritize based on ongoing feedback from students with print disabilities. o Identify workarounds, accommodations, and supports, including the use of readers/scribes when no alternative will work to address short term gaps.

Refine Policy o Identify a functional standard for access (substantially equivalent ease of use in the same place and at the same time as other students). o Identify a technical standard for access (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide good benchmarks). o Develop purchasing requirements. o Clarify alternative media responsibilities and time lines. Train o Administrators o Faculty o Students References

Louisiana Tech University (Department of Justice) Settlement Agreement: http://www.ada.gov/louisiana-tech.htm South Carolina Technical College System (Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights) Resolution Letter: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/11116002-a.doc Agreement: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/11116002-b.pdf University of California, Berkeley (Disability Rights Advocates) Settlement: http://dralegal.org/sites/dralegal.org/files/casefiles/settlement-ucb.pdf Fact Sheet: http://dralegal.org/sites/dralegal.org/files/casefiles/factsheet_ucb.pdf Joint Dear Colleague Letter: Electronic Book Readers (Departments of Justice & Education) Letter: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague20100629.html Q&A: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/504-qa-20100629.pdf Accessible Instructional Materials Commission Report: http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/aim/publications.html WEBAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) http://webaim.org

University Resources University Accessibility Committee Rick DelaCastro, Chair, 766-2215 rdelacas@uwyo.edu University Disability Support Services 766-6189, udss@uwyo.edu UDSS Website and link to resources for faculty and staff: http://www.uwyo.edu/udss/information-for-faculty-and-staff/ Syllabus Statement (instructors are asked to include this statement in each course syllabus): If you have a physical, learning, sensory or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. You will need to register with, and provide information about your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 109 Knight Hall. You may also contact UDSS at (307) 766-6189 or udss@uwyo.edu. Visit their website for more information: www.uwyo.edu/udss" Other Resources Adobe Acrobats Accessibility page: http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat.html University of Vermonts UDL (Universal Design for Learning) Project: http://www.uvm.edu/~cdci/universaldesign/ DCMP Captioning Key http://www.dcmp.org/captioningkey/ PepNet Captioning Tip Sheet http://www.pepnet.org/sites/default/files/61PEPNet%20Tipsheet%20-%20Captioning.pdf MagPie Free Captioning Program http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/tools-guidelines/magpie YouTube Adding Captions https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en YouTube Turning Captions On and Off https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/100078?hl=en Why YouTubes automated captions are not sufficient. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lTUXVfTVOg