ADA guidelines for webpages?

[Prentiss Riddle]

> Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 12:26:54 -0700
> From: Wilfred Drew <drewwe at MORRISVILLE.EDU>
> Subject: Re: ADA guidelines for webpages?
> 
> Thanks for all of the suggestions for links to sites that
> have information about amking sites accessable.  I guess
> what I am after is the actual ADA policy and official
> recommendations.  I am already doing most of the things
> suggested by the various sites.  Need the official word on
> the subject.

I've been on the trail of the same thing, and it seems to be an elusive
beast.

An announcement of an ACRL/NEC conference entitled "Widening the Door:
Access to Web-Based Resources for Users with Disabilities" last April
mentioned "a recent Department of Justice ruling" on ADA and web
design.  It took some effort to find anyone associated with the
conference who could give us a citation, but eventually they referred
us to:

	National Disability Law Reporter, vol. 10, issue 6, 9/11/97 (?)

The NDLR contained a short article which read:

	"More and more businesses are using Internet web pages as a
	marketing tool.  To what extent does the ADA require such pages
	to be acessible to people visual impairments?  In response to
	an inquiry from a United States senator, the Justice Department
	advised that ADA requirements do apply to Internet web pages
	Entities subject to Title II or III of the statute must provide
	effective communication, the agency said, regardless of whether
	they generally communicate via print, audio or computerized
	media such as the Internet.  If a covered entity uses the
	Internet to communicate regarding its programs, goods, or
	services, then those communications should be offered through
	accessible means.  One way to do so is to provide web page
	information in text format that is accessible to screen reading
	devices that are used by people with visual impairments.
	Another acceptable option, according to the Justice Department,
	is to make known, in a screen-readable format on the web page,
	the availability of other accessible formats such as Braille or
	large print."

I haven't seen the full NDLR ssue myself; apparently there's a more
complete (?) version available for a fee.

But exactly what the DOJ said and whether it represented a mandate on
web design is still unclear to me.  I'm in the same boat as you -- I
believe I'm doing the right thing already, and wish it were a bit easier
to find out whether there's a letter of the law I should be adhering to
as well.

-- Prentiss Riddle ("aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada") riddle at rice.edu
-- Webmaster, Rice University / http://is.rice.edu/~riddle
-- Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.