Albuquerque Public Schools
PE17 Online Content Accessibility
General Provisions
Albuquerque Public Schools is committed to meeting the requirements established by WCAG 2.0 Level AA that all online content be made accessible for individuals with disabilities. Albuquerque Public Schools shall ensure that content housed on the district-owned domain of aps.edu and any other website that requires district credentialing meets these requirements. The district shall not be responsible for accessible content on websites housed outside of its domain.
Any employee posting content to aps.edu or a site requiring district credentialing shall be responsible for making content accessible except when doing so creates a fundamental alteration or undue burden. The district shall require that assurances be made by the individual posting the content prior to the content being published on the website.
All third party software purchased by Albuquerque Public Schools for business operations or curricular activities shall have the capability to make its content accessible. The district shall verify claims of accessibility by vendors and open sources prior to the software purchase and periodically during its contracted use with the district.
Assurances
The district Web Team will:
- provide best practices in content accessibility
- provide guidance and online tutorials to departments and district editors to correct accessibility issues that affect features and functions in aps.edu, intranet, and school sites
- enroll all website editors as quality assurance report recipients with third-party website auditor to correct superficial issues that arise
- communicate updates, changes, reminders, and training to district employees about web content accessibility
Departments and schools responsible for posting online content shall develop internal processes to make content accessible so assurances established by the Web Team may be met.
The district shall provide appropriate training in how to make online content accessible. This training may be online, face-to-face workshops, resources and support tutorials.
Web content shall follow guidelines set forth by the Web Team and federal guidelines. It is the responsibility of all website editors to review content prior to posting to the web. If content authored by an employee outside of the Web content department is not accessible, it shall be returned to author for corrections.
Using an ongoing review process, all existing content shall be reviewed to meet accessibility requirements, which includes requiring departments and schools to perform content audits and taking corrective action on issues detailed in accessibility reports.
Benchmarks
The district will make reasonable modifications of practices to ensure equal opportunity and access to website content, software, and equipment for people with disabilities. All district web content shall meet the requirements outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA and Web Accessibility Initiative Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA). These benchmarks allow the district to engage in ongoing development and progress to provide individuals with disabilities access to information comparable to individuals who do not have disabilities.
Accessible content shall comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Alternative Access/Point of Contact
Each department/school shall be responsible for providing an alternative to an individual who is not able to access content from the website due to a disability. These alternatives may include a hard copy, mailed information or individual conversations related to the content.
The Web Team will utilize a Web Content Accessibility Support Form to address concerns from individuals and provide feedback to the district for continuous improvement.
Administrative Position:
- Executive Director of Communications
Department Director:
- Web Team
References:
Legal Cross Ref.:
- 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act-- 42 U.S.C. §12131
Board Policy Cross Ref.:
Procedural Directive Cross Ref.:
Introduced: November 8, 2017
Reviewed: September 12, 2018
Adopted: September 19, 2018