The U.S. Department of Justice recently updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, including accessibility requirements for web content. The updated regulations apply to all state and local governments as well as special purpose districts, Amtrak, other commuter authorities, and private companies acting on their behalf. 

Meeting the web accessibility standards helps to provide people with disabilities equal access to important information about transportation projects that may affect them or their communities. This generally also results in web content that is more usable for all people.

The new standard for state and local government digital content under Title II of the ADA is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 level AA. This applies to web pages, mobile apps, Word, PDF, PowerPoint, and Excel formats.

WCAG follows four general principles:

• Perceivable: users must be able to perceive the information being presented, regardless of their sensory abilities
• Operable: users must be able to navigate and use the website, including using only a keyboard
• Understandable: website information and user interface operation must be easy to understand and use plain language
• Robust: web content must be easily interpreted by people using assistive technology (such as screen readers)

Ways to engage:

• Think about how a person with a disability might use your digital content.
• When creating content (including both public websites and social media), make sure that web accessibility is considered from the beginning. One simple accessibility improvement is to use alternative text (alt text) describing images in your content.
• When purchasing a public-facing digital product, ask the vendor for an Accessibility Compliance Report (ACR) to understand the level of compliance.
• Ensure that web content works well on mobile devices.

MassDOT/MBTA employees can reach out to the Accessible Technology Advisory Committee for assistance. Many private companies have accessibility experts on staff who can provide guidance.

References:

Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments

The Critical Importance of Web Accessibility