Applying the ADA to the Internet: A Web Accessibility Standard
                                          by Cynthia D. Waddell, JD
                               ADA Coordinator, City of San Jose, CA USA

Written and Presented on June 17, 1998 at the request of the American Bar
Association for their National Conference "In Pursuit . . . . A Blueprint for
Disability Law and Policy"

Although it may seem that the World Wide Web has been like the Wild, Wild,
West
--where there are no laws and each frontier web site is on its own, there
are significant legal and practical reasons for ensuring web accessibility. By
web accessibility I am referring to the design of a webpage that embraces the
requirements of Universal Design in order to ensure that all users can access
the information on the page:

     Universal Design calls for the development of information systems
flexible
enough to accommodate the needs of the broadest range of users of
     computers and telecommunications equipment, regardless of age or
disability.

(September 1994 National Information Infrastructure White Paper by Susan
Brummel, USGSA CITA, entitled "People with Disabilities and the NII: Breaking
Down Barriers, Building Choice;" See
http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/coca/nii.htm)

Unless a web site is designed in an accessible format, significant populations
will be locked out as the World Wide Web rapidly advances from a text-based
communication format to a robust, graphical format embracing audio and video
clip tools.

Yet, the benefits of accessible web design extend beyond the community of
people with disabilities and an aging population since it enables low
technology to
access high technology. There are substantial business incentives for
technology transfer in underdeveloped countries and for populations who do not
have the
"state of the art" technology. Accessible web design features enable CD
technology and videotapes to be archived with word search capabilities due to
text
captioning. Even people who are illiterate can access the Internet since
screenreaders can audibly read text out loud from accessible webpages.

As the capital of Silicon Valley, the City of San Jose is proud to be a
national leader in web accessibility implementation for local government. This
article
briefly discusses specific legal requirements for accessible web design and
how
the City of San Jose developed and implemented a minimal web accessibility
standard that is now supported by the first draft international protocol for
web accessibility. In a nutshell, public policy and legal compliance requires
the
removal of barriers to effective communication and commerce. By accommodating
members of our diverse community, government can play a catalytic role in
promoting a sustainable community.

I. United States Department of Justice Policy Ruling, 9/9/96: ADA
Accessibility
Requirements Apply to Internet Web Pages
10 NDLR 240

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires covered entities to furnish
appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective
communication with individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would result
in a fundamental alteration to the program or service or in an undue burden.
See
28 C.F.R. 36.303; 28 C.F.R. 35.160. Auxiliary aids include taped texts,
Brailled materials, large print materials, captioning and other methods of
making audio
and visual media available to people with disabilities.

The policy ruling states that ADA Titles II and III require State and local
governments and the business sector to provide effective communication
whenever
they communicate through the Internet. The effective communication rule
applies
to covered entities using the Internet for communications regarding their
programs, goods or services since they must be prepared to offer those
communications via an accessible medium.

Specifically addressing the needs of people with visual disabilities, this
policy ruling points out that providing a text format rather than a graphical
format assures
accessibility to the Internet for individuals using screenreaders. Without
special coding, a text browser will only display the word "image" when it
reads
a
graphic image. Moreover, if the graphic is essential to navigating the site
(such as a navigational button or arrow) or if it imparts vital information
(such as a table
or image map) the user can get stuck and not be able to move or understand the
information provided. As one user put it:

     When blind people use the internet and come across unfriendly sites, we
aren't surfing, we are crawling ....Imagine hearing pages that say,
     'Welcome to ...[image].' 'This is the home of ... [image].' 'Link, link,
link.' It is like trying to use Netscape with your monitor off and the mouse
     unplugged. See how far you'll get.

(NY Times Cybertimes, 12/1/96)

Whereas the Internet in its infancy was only a text-based medium, the current
graphical environment and problems associated with Portable Document Format
(PDF) and hyperlinks designed as animated gifs are currently barriers on the
World Wide Web. As technology erects additional new barriers, such as
video-streaming and audio, people with hearing loss will also be impacted.
Internet kiosks will need the flexibility and interoperability that accessible
web
design provides in order to be accessible to our communities.

Therefore, as government and businesses increasingly depend on the convenience
of the Internet as a vehicle for programs, goods or services, the more it is
important that accessible web design be addressed. Accessible web design
enables effective communication and saves government resources since documents
can be readily available, requests for ADA Alternate Document Formats can be
satisfied, and Internet/Intranet access for employees with disabilities can be
provided.

II. United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, Settlement
Letters: Docket Number 09-95-2206 (1996
Letter )& 09-97-2002 (1997 Letter)

Not surprisingly, web accessibility issues are now being faced by educational
institutions. Library reference services are being transformed by the
efficiency of
Internet access to information systems and search engines. Professors are
teaching long distance learning courses over the Internet and even if a
student
is
physically in class, homework assignments and resources are being posted on
class homepages. Yet, even if a library terminal has assistive computer
technology installed for students with disabilities, Internet research by
students with disabilities is not possible with inaccessible web page design.

In a complaint by a student that a university had failed to provide access to
the Internet, the Office of Civil Rights, United States Department of
Education
(OCR) discussed what was meant to provide effective communication. In a
nutshell,

     [T]he issue is not whether the student with the disability is merely
provided access, but the issue is rather the extent to which the communication
is
     actually as effective as that provided to others. Title II [of the
Americans with Disabiliti es Act of 1990] also strongly affirms the important
role
     that computer technology is expected to play as an auxiliary aid by which
communication is made effective for persons with disabilities.

(Pages 1-2, 1996 Letter; 28 C.F.R. 35.160(a))

In further clarifying what is meant by "effective communication," OCR has held
that the three basic components of effective communication are: "timeliness of
delivery, accuracy of the translation, and provision in a manner and medium
appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the
individual with
the disability." (Page 1, 1997 Letter)

OCR also points out that the courts have held that a public entity violates
its
obligations under the ADA when it only responds on an ad- hoc basis to
individual
requests for accommodation. There is an affirmative duty to develop a
comprehensive policy in advance of any request for auxiliary aids or services.
Moreover, the community of persons with disabilities is required to be
consulted in the development of this policy. See Tyler v. City of Manhattan,
857 F.
Supp. 800 (D.Kan. 1994).

Of particular interest is the analogy OCR draws between the rationale for
bringing an existing building up to code for access and the purchase of new
technology for information systems. For example, buildings built prior to
access laws are governed by "program access" requirements and remodeling
triggers
the requirement to install certain accessible architectural features.

Similarly, the effective communication requirement imposes a duty to solve
barriers to information access that the entity's purchasing choices create.
Whenever
existing technology is "upgraded" by a new technology feature, it is important
to ensure that the new technology either improves accessibility or is
compatible
with existing assistive computer technology. For example, web-authoring
software programs that erect barriers in their coding of webpages fall under
this
scrutiny.

Lastly, OCR states that when an entity selects software programs and/or
hardware equipment not adaptable for people with disabilities, "the subsequent
substantial expense of providing access is not generally regarded as an undue
burden when such cost could have been significantly reduced by considering the
issue of accessibility at the time of the initial selection." (Page 2, 1997
Letter) Therefore, all technology improvements must take into account the
removal of
barriers and ensure that new barriers to access do not occur. Covered entities
preparing to retrofit their web sites need to be aware of this issue.

III. City of San Jose World Wide Web Page Accessibility Standard

In response to the monitoring of ADA Internet complaints and the need to
incorporate City ADA implementation policies, the City of San Jose Web Page
Disability Access Design Standard was developed in 1996. (See
http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/oaacc/disacces.html) By integrating the
requirements of the
ADA and applying Universal principles, we have ensured the widest public
access
to City government information and services. Currently these standards are
being incorporated into our web site and are subject to change as technology
advances to solve these problems and integrate access tool kits in web-
authoring
tools.

By June 1996 seven minimum requirements were identified to ensure web
accessibility:

1. Provide an Access Instruction Page for Visitors (includes email hyperlink
for visitors to communicate problems with web page accessibility)
2. Provide support for text browsers
3. Attach "Alt" tags to graphic images so that screenreaders can identify the
graphic
4. Hyperlink photographs with descriptive text "D"
5. Caption all audio and video clips by using "CC" hyperlinks
6. Provide alternative mechanisms for on-line forms (such as email or
voice/TTY
phone numbers)
7. Avoid access barriers such as the posting of documents in PDF, table,
newspaper or frame format or requiring visitors to download software. If
posting in
PDF, the HTML text or ASCII file must also be posted.

The City of San Jose web accessibility standards were adopted by the Board of
Supervisors for the County of Santa Clara in March 1997 and have been
designated as a "best practices" model by the League of California Cities as
well as the federal government. Named to the "Top 25 Women on the Web" by
Webgrrls International, I am pleased to support the efforts of the technology
industry to extend the benefits of the Web to the global community. With the
launch in April 1997 of the Web Accessibility Initiative by the World Wide Web
Consortium, hopefully web accessibility will soon become as common as an
accessible building. Recently, the first draft guidelines for an international
protocol was announced (see http://www.w3.org/Press/19948/WAI-Guide) and a
free web accessibility diagnostic has been upgraded to perform validation of
web pages (see http://www.cast.org/bobby).

Conclusion

Without the application of ADA requirements to the Internet, new barriers to
effective communication and global commerce will be erected that will have a
discriminatory impact upon individuals with disabilities. Accessible web
design
should be mandated so that everyone, regardless of age or disability, or the
limitations of their computer equipment, can participate in the benefits of
the
World Wide Web.

Additional Resources:

"Electronic Curbcuts: How to Build an Accessible Web Site" by Leslie M.
Campbell and Cynthia D. Waddell, CAPED Communique, California Association
on Postsecondary Education and Disability, Spring 1997 http://
www.prodworks.com/ilf/w5bcw.htm

"Electronic Curbcuts for Government Web Sites: Making Your Web Site
Accessible"
by Cynthia D. Waddell, ADA Update, Fall 1997, National League of
Cities

Web Accessibility Initiative, World Wide Web Consortium
http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Bobby, a web site that will perform a free accessibility diagnostic and make
suggestions http://www.cast.org/bobby/

Starling Access Services- a web site that provides excellent tools for
webmasters http://www.igs.net/~starling/acc/index.htm

More Than Screen Deep: Toward Every-Citizen Interfaces to the Nation's
Information Infrastructure, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board,
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications, National
Research Council; National Academy Press 1997 Full text posted at
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/screen


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