Copyright © 2015 NPR.
  SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The Americans with Disabilities Act was 
passed in 1990.  That is a long time ago in computer years.  The 
Department of Justice is expected to release formal regulations 
this month that for the first time would apply ADA accessibility 
requirements to the web.  From member station WHYY, Todd Bookman 
reports.
  TODD BOOKMAN, BYLINE: If you're blind, the Web probably has a 
familiar sound.
  (SOUNDBITE OF SCREEN READER)
  ANGEL AYALA: We're on the Department of Justice website under 
accessibility under Internet accessibility.
  BOOKMAN: We're inside the computer lab at Overbrook School for 
the Blind in Philadelphia, where senior Angel Ayala is showing 
off how screen reading software works.  He's using the keyboard 
to tab through all the various links on this government webpage.  
Angel is so used to hearing the Internet, he's got the speed 
turned way up.
  (SOUNDBITE OF SCREEN READER)
  BOOKMAN: Sitting to Angel's right is sophomore Marvin Pearson, 
also blind since birth.  Even checking email or Facebook can be 
tricky.
  MARVIN PEARSON: Where's login at? I don't know why this ain't 
working.  Oh, there we go.
  BOOKMAN: This is how it goes for these kids.
  PEARSON: I can't - oh, my goodness.
  BOOKMAN: For lots of people with disabilities, everything on 
the Web is a little slower, a little more frustrating.  Angel and 
Marvin say some sites work well with screen readers and some just 
don't.
  AYALA: That's a huge problem with people who can't see the 
screen and have to deal with these graphics and PDFs and other 
things that aren't presented to us the same way it's presented to 
you.
  BOOKMAN: To make a website accessible, it doesn't need to be 
all text or cluttered with captions or stripped of graphics.  
Most of the time, the changes are relatively minor fixes Web 
developers make to the back end code, where the screen reader 
picks up its instructions.  Sighted people wouldn't see any 
difference.  And when the coding is done right, it's the digital 
equivalent of a wheelchair ramp.  The type of accommodation the 
Americans with Disabilities Act helped make widespread.  
Advocates say the Web now needs that same treatment.
  CHRIS DANIELSON: This is beyond just mere conveniences like 
shopping online.
  BOOKMAN: Chris Danielson is director of public relations for 
the National Federation of the Blind.
  DANIELSON: This deals with education and, you know, employment, 
being able to do so many things that I just don't think it's 
realistic to say in the 21st century that websites don't have to 
be ADA compliant.
  BOOKMAN: On this point, the United States Department of Justice 
appears to be on Danielson's side.  The DOJ is scheduled to 
release regulations this month spelling out exactly what an 
ADA-compliant site is and to clarify which websites would have to 
meet those standards.  In the absence of clear laws, lawsuits 
have been the go-to strategy.  Companies including Target, 
Netflix and H&R Block have all reached settlement agreements.  
Others made site improvements after customer requests.
  (SOUNDBITE OF BASEBALL GAME)
  UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: The Giants win the pennant.
  MATTHEW GOULD: It was really a great grassroots initiative of 
baseball fans - visually impaired baseball fans who wanted that 
level of access, you know, to their games, particularly live 
games.
  BOOKMAN: This is Matthew Gould with MLB Advanced Media.  He 
says the group just didn't know the site wasn't working well for 
everyone.  So when it was brought to their attention, coders made 
the improvements.  Lainey Feingold, a disabilities rights lawyer 
in California, says federal action could spur sites to be more 
proactive.
  LAINEY FEINGOLD: I think that it's going to be very big when 
they issue their regulations because it is going to be a wake-up 
call, and it is going to bring heightened attention to the issue.
  BOOKMAN: And the issue, according to Feingold, isn't about 
special treatment, it's about making sure the Web works for 
everyone.  For NPR News, I'm Todd Bookman.
  Copyright © 2015 NPR.  All rights reserved.


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