UW Policy On Web Site Accessibility

The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities.

Since the World Wide Web has become an essential tool for faculty and staff doing their work and students pursuing their education, official UW Web sites fall under this policy.

Federal Laws Affecting UW Accessibility Policy

Rehabilitation Act, Section 504 (1973)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) prohibits discrimination on the basis of handicap in federally assisted programs and activities.

Americans With Disabilities Act, Title II (1990)

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and requires places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the accessibility standards. Title II of the ADA extends this prohibition of discrimination to include all services, programs, and activities provided or made available by State and local governments or any of their instrumentalities or agencies, regardless of the receipt of Federal financial assistance.

Enforcement of Relevant Federal Law

Failure to comply with regulations can result in complaints, lawsuits, or regulatory action by agencies such as the Department of Education. The following are examples of such actions with respect to higher education.

• San Jose State University
• California Community Colleges
• California State University, Los Angeles
• California State University, Long Beach

Other Accessibility-Related Federal Law

Rehabilitation Act, Section 508, As Amended In 1998

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires Federal departments and agencies to take into consideration accessibility when developing, procuring, or using electronic and information technology.

Implications of Section 508 for the UW

Section 508 does not apply to the University of Washington. However, since Section 508 was passed a large effort has been underway throughout the Federal government to make Web sites accessible. Standards have been defined. Books, Web tutorials, and classes on accessible Web design have been created. Faced with the threat of losing the Federal government as a customer, many software companies have modified their products to make them more accessible. Web publishing programs such as DreamWeaver, Frontpage, and GoLive now include features to help design accessible Web sites. These extensive resources are available to the UW to support its efforts to make UW sites accessible.

The fact that generally accepted Web accessible design standards exist and that thousands of Federal Web sites conform with those standards has raised the bar for the rest of us. Accessible Web design has been demonstrated to be practical and beneficial.

More

• Section 508 - Main Federal Web site supporting Section 508
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Titles I and V - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission