Item 3: Digital Accessibility Compliance Presentation — original pdf

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Digital Accessibility Compliance Project (DACP) Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities Friday, November 14th, 2025 Luisa Apolaya Torres Sr. Service Designer @ ATS Communications & Engagement Lead @ DACP Accessibility 5 Es, Core Value of Service: Equity Through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title 2, our responsibility as the City of Austin (CoA) is to provide equal access to information and services regardless of a person’s physical or developmental abilities or impairments. 2 Widespread Disability Population 56.7 million Americans (~20% of the U.S. population) have reported some type of disability. The actual number is likely to be larger. 3 Kinds of Disabilities Visual Auditory Cognitive • Conductive hearing loss • Memory impairments • Color blindness • Low vision • Degenerative eyesight loss • Blindness Physical • Paralysis • Muscular and joint Contextual • Browsers and devices • Connectivity • Neural hearing • Learning disabilities conditions loss • Deafness • Attention disorders • Reduced dexterity • Language • Seizure disorders • Nerve injury • Space and context 4 The Department of Justice (DOJ) Ruling On April 24, 2024, the DOJ finalized the rule under Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), requiring state and local governments to make web content and mobile applications meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. 5 By April 24, 2026 As communicated in previous memos, under ADA Title 2, the CoA must conform all public- facing digital experiences (websites, apps, attached documents, etc.) to meet DOJ accessibility guidelines. 6 In Scope to DOJ/ Title II Compliance The DoJ rule requires the City’s digital services and content to meet WCAG 2.1 AA conformance with 50 success criteria (30 from level A, 20 from level AA), across all of the following: • Public-facing websites and mobile apps the City provides or controls • Embedded tools and transactions (payments, applications, forms) • Digital documents presented to the public (HTML pages preferred; PDFs when unavoidable) • Audio/video provided to the public (captions; audio description when needed) 7 Out of Scope for DOJ/Title II Compliance AAA level criteria: 28 AAA success criteria in the WCAG 2.1 are not required for AA conformance, and therefore not required for compliance with the DOJ rule. • E.g. Plain language rewrites of all content: while highly beneficial for equity and usability, plain language is criterion for AAA and not for AA. Department-by-department mandates to run disability-inclusive design and testing Instead, COA will recommend the use of testing and leveraging centralized insights within current systems serving the City. • E.g. Usertesting.com, a current platform to conduct usability testing with specific demographics. 8 Implementation Structure Digital Accessibility Committee Accessibility Champions Department Teams • Create timelines and strategy • Create and manage interdepartmental compliance dashboard • Provide guidance and oversight • Answer questions that arise during project • Share updates and reminders • Track and report our department’s progress towards compliance • Asset owners will fix (remediate) their assets • Communicate with the accessibility champion to ask for support 9 Project Timeline Inventory & Prioritize Test Remediate Track & prioritize all public- facing digital assets* through intake form. Test assets for accessibility compliance using Siteimprove or other tools. Fix (or remediate) assets to comply with 2.1 Level AA WCAG guidelines. Deadline: December 1st, 2025 Deadline: December 12th, 2025 Deadline: April 1st, 2025 10 Achievements so far… 11 Training & Resources Lunch & Learns #1: How do Austinites who are blind or have low vision experience websites? Featuring Austin Lighthouse. #2: Accessibility PDF Remediation: Step-by-Step. Featuring Bouton Jones, COA Accessibility Advocate & Expert. To be planned… • Accessibility Etiquette • AI x Accessibility Tools Prioritization & Scope Guidance Online Trainings Prioritization guidance includes help to identify highest legal risk, highest impact on residents with disabilities, highest used services and transactions Scope guidance includes summary of 50 WCAG 2.1 A/AA success criteria with city- focused examples and methods. 1. Siteimprove Learning Hub 2. LinkedIn Training Being discussed… • Custom WCAG training (Learning group within committee) • HR Mandatory Training for content designers 12 How can community partners get involved? 1. Meet with us! 2. Give us feedback to help us prioritize remediation. 3. Participate in Lunch & Learns for city staff with your organization. 13 Questions? Email digitalaccessibility@austintexas.gov 14 Thank you! 15 Appendix 16 What about Employee Experiences? Accessibility for employees is still important. *Title 1 still applies. The CoA must comply with both. Title 1 and Title 2 of the ADA. *Providing ‘reasonable accommodations’ for employees is still required for the CoA under Title 1. *ADA Title 1 is for Employers, ADA Title 2 is for State and Local Government Entities 17