What One School Learned from DOJ/OCR Accessibility Rulings at Other Institutions

Lessons Learned from DOJ/OCR Rulings at Other Institutions

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Sheryl BurgstahlerDirector, Accessible Technology Services

University of Washington

Terrill ThompsonTechnology Accessibility

SpecialistUniversity of Washington

Lily Bond (Moderator)Director of Marketing

3Play [email protected]

Sheryl Burgstahler Terrill ThompsonAccessible Technology Services

What One School Learned from DOJ/OCR Rulings at Other Institutions

Title Slide

What do they have in common?

• University of Cincinnati• Youngstown State University • University of Colorado-Boulder • University of Montana-Missoula • UC Berkeley • South Carolina Technical College

System • Louisiana Tech University • MIT • Harvard University• Florida State University• Maricopa Community College District • Florida State University

• CSU Fullerton• California Community Colleges • Ohio State University• University of Kentucky • …

uw.edu/accessibility/requirements

What do they have in common?

What is the legal basis?

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

• The Americans with Disabilities Act & its 2008 Amendments

• State & local laws& policies (WA Policy #188)

What is the legal basis?

Definition of “accessible”

“Accessible” means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, & enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective & equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally & independently as a person without a disability.-DoJ, OCR

Definition of “accessible”

Approaches to access:

• Accommodations• Universal/inclusive design

Both are important!

Universal design =

“the design of products & environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”

The Center for Universal Designwww.design.ncsu.edu/cud

Uncaptioned video

Captioned video

Interpreter for deaf student

UD on a continuumCaptioned & audio described video

UD on a continuum

UW efforts guided by:

• DoJ & OCR resolutions at other campuses• 2015 EDUCAUSE report IT Accessibility

Risk Statements & Evidence• State of Washington Policy #188 –

IT Accessibility

UW efforts guided by

Lessons learned from resolutions1. Conduct an audit of the accessibility of IT, and

develop a corrective action strategy to address problems identified in the audit.

2. Set institutional standards relating to accessible technology and create a method to monitor compliance.

Lessons learned from resolutions (1 of 3)

Lessons learned from resolutions3. Provide training and education about

accessibility to anyone on campus who is responsible for creating or procuring IT, as well as those responsible for creating content.

4. Institute procedures for addressing accessibility as a requirement within the procurement process.


Lessons learned from resolutions5. Provide and publicize a mechanism by which

students, faculty, staff, and members of the public can report access barriers.


Applying lessons learned

• Gain high-level buy-in• Undertake efforts that are

both reactive & proactive; both top-down & bottom-up

• Develop policy/guidelines• Conduct IT accessibility inventory• Engage advisory, task force, special interest

groups

Applying lessons learned

Applying lessons learned (continued)• Create concrete plans; annual reports• Build on existing

policies/processes/responsibilities• Develop web resources, consulting, training,

promotional activities• Address development & procurement

processes• Work with vendors• Develop grievance procedure

Applying lessons learned (continued)

Who should be involved?• President, academic affairs, provost, deans, dept chairs• Academic senate, college council, council of chairs…• Central campus IT unit• Marketing • Student affairs• Students• Online learning programs• ADA compliance officer • Libraries• Procurement

It’s not just disability support services!

Who should be involved?

Key aspects of UW approach

• Promote accessibility within context of UD, civil rights, & inclusive campus culture

• With UW-IT’s Accessible Technology Services as lead, resource, catalyst, & community-builder: - support efforts of Disability Resources for Students- develop & evolve “ideal state” & gap analyses- create list of IT products developed, procured & used;

prioritize; determine strategy; assign staff- lead a top-level IT accessibility task force with key

stakeholders, clear direction, regular reports- engage IT accessibility liaisons across campus

Key aspects of UW approach (1 of 3)


With UW-IT’s Accessible Technology Services as lead, resource, catalyst, & community-builder, cont.:

– develop partnerships & empower stakeholders within their roles in a distributed computing environment

– provide guidance on an IT accessibility website– develop IT accessibility guidelines & standards– offer training, consultation, captioning parties, capacity

building institutes, & other events– support multiple user groups – proactively test websites, PDFs & offer remediation



• Prioritize efforts when WA Policy #188 was approved in August, 2016– Policy, processes due December 31, 2016– Comprehensive plan, including IT accessibility

audit due March 31, 2017• Conduct state-wide Capacity-Building Institute,

November 29-30, 2016; & Community of Practice• Develop internal roadmap document


Internal roadmap:

• Develop aspirational policy & procedures linked to guidelines & resources

• Build on current policies & procedures regarding IT developed, procured, used

• Model IT accessibility compliance after IT security compliance efforts

• Build on past accomplishments• Offer incentives (e.g., video captioning project)

Internal Roadmap

uw.edu/accessibilityuw.edu/accessibility

Resources

• University of Washington IT Accessibility uw.edu/accessibility/

• Sheryl Burgstahler [email protected] • Terrill Thompson [email protected]

Resources

Q&A

Upcoming Webinars: Jan 26: Getting Colleagues to Adopt UDL

Feb 2: A Centralized Approach to EIT Accessibility

Feb 9: The State of Captioning in Higher Ed

Feb 16: Accessibility at Blackboard

Feb 23: Best Practices for Accessible Videos

You can register for our free webinars at: www.3playmedia.com/webinars/

Panelist Contact Info

Sheryl BurgstahlerUniversity of [email protected]/accessibility/

Terrill ThompsonUniversity of [email protected]/accessibility/

Lily Bond3Play [email protected]

Please type your questions into the window in your control panel. A recording of this webinar will be

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