Accessibility Plan for Digital Content

Accessibility Plan for Digital Content

Background

The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for any person to discriminate against an individual with a disability. In 2021, the Colorado legislature passed HB21-1110,  strengthening protections for individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the new law declares that it is a discriminatory practice for a governmental entity to:

  • Because of an individual’s disability, exclude a person from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by a public entity; and 
  • Fail to develop an accessibility plan and fully comply with the accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities developed by the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) by July 1, 2024. 

Accessibility means perceivable, operable, and understandable digital content that reasonably enables an individual with a disability to access the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services offered to other individuals with the same privacy, independence, and ease of use as exists for individuals without a disability. Digital content is any content that exists in digital form, regardless of its location.

HB21-1110 specifically applies to all technology, including hardware and software that is both public-facing and internal-facing, including any technology provided by or procured by a government entity that is used by the public or used by a government entity employee. This technology includes, but is not limited to, websites, applications, kiosks, digital signage, documents, video, audio, and third-party tools. Additionally, applications, programs, and underlying operating systems must permit the installation and effective use of and be compatible with software and peripheral devices that provide accessibility to an individual with a disability.

By July 1, 2024, local governments are required to develop an accessibility plan using the accessibility standards developed by the OIT and be in full compliance with current WCAG standards in the creation and publication of any online content and materials, including, but not limited to text, links, images, forms, PDFs, documents, and embedded third-party applications.

Scope

St. Vrain Valley Schools Accessibility Plan applies to all digital content published or made available by the District, including, but not limited to:

  • Websites available at www.svvsd.org
  • Official St. Vrain social media postings and interactions
  • Professional Social Media postings and interactions of St. Vrain employees acting in their official capacity
  • Communications including district-, department-, school-, classroom-, and team-level newsletters, emails, blogs, vlogs, etc.
  • Curricular resources, including digital textbooks, online resources, supplemental materials, digital curricula, etc.
  • Digital learning and assessment environments utilized for professional learning and/or PK-12 classroom instruction including the learning management system, student information system, online registration systems, progress monitoring systems, etc.
  • Internal, employee-facing tools, including productivity tools, ERP, absence management, LMS, and time clock systems

Standards

St. Vrain Valley Schools will follow and comply with the OIT-adopted standards for accessibility. As of July 1, 2024, the current guidelines are set to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, available at https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/. References in this Accessibility Plan to the “current WCAG standards” mean the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, as such guidelines may be amended from time-to-time, or as may be replaced by different guidelines and requirements promulgated by OIT in the future.

Accessibility Statement

St. Vrain Valley Schools is committed to providing equitable access to our services, programs, and activities.

Our ongoing accessibility effort aims to be in line with current WCAG standards. These guidelines help make technology accessible not only to users with sensory, cognitive, and mobility disabilities but ultimately to all users, regardless of ability.

Our efforts are part of a meaningful change in making all State of Colorado services inclusive and accessible. We welcome feedback and comments on improving our technology’s accessibility for users with disabilities and requests for accommodations to any State of Colorado services.

Annual Training

Basic digital content accessibility training will be required for all staff. It shall include best practices and accessibility requirements common to all staff (e.g., email, mass communication, and productivity suite) and the employee’s role and responsibility to ensure that digital content is accessible. The training will provide an individual with sufficient knowledge, skill, and experience to understand and employ the technical standard(s) required by HB21-1110 and the OIT.

Additional advanced training may be required for users of specific tools, including but not limited to the web content management system, learning management system, mass communication systems, and social media platforms. 

Purchasing & Procurement

The District will not purchase digital content or systems rendered digitally unless the vendor certifies that they comply with the OIT-adopted accessibility standards.

Accessibility Check for New Digital Content

When creating or otherwise adding new digital content to a website, page, email, social media posting, or any other platform, the content owner will confirm that the information meets the standard(s) required by HB21-1110 and the OIT. All digital content shall be provided in a format accessible to all potential recipients. 

Accommodation Requests & Feedback

To request reasonable accommodations or modifications, or to report inaccessible content, please reach out to the Help Desk through any of the following means:

Within 7 calendar days after receipt of the issue/request, the district employee responsible for the service in question will contact the person initiating the issue/request to discuss the problem and the possible resolutions. Within 14 calendar days of the meeting, the District will respond in a format accessible to the submitter. The response will offer options for a resolution. If the response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue/request, the submitter or their designee may submit a grievance using the procedures outlined in Board Policy AC-E-1, 

Accessibility Audit

Website

The Communications Department shall conduct an accessibility audit of St. Vrain Valley Schools’ website (including all school and department pages) annually. The audit shall ensure that all pages housed on St. Vrain’s domain (www.svvsd.org) comply with current WCAG standards. In addition, all supporting resources, including video, audio, PDF, and downloadable files, shall be included in the audit.

A list of pages and files that do not meet accessibility standards will be shared with the page’s owner/editor, along with directions for remediation. The owner/editor will either fix the issue or remove the page/element that does not meet accessibility standards.

Learning Management System (LMS)

District Technology Services (DTS) shall ensure that departments and owners of classroom and professional learning courses conduct an annual audit of content currently in use they have created and stored in the LMS and affirm the compliance of their content annually. The audit shall ensure that all courses housed on or distributed by St. Vrain’s LMS are compliant with current WCAG standards. In addition, all supporting content, resources, and Learning Tools shall be included in the audit.

A list of courses, pages, and files currently in use that do not meet accessibility standards will be documented by the owner/editor of content, along with specific actions taken  to fix the problem(s). Within 21 days, the owner/editor will fix the issue or remove the page/element that does not meet accessibility standards.

Other Digital Applications

DTS shall provide documentation of the current status of previously adopted digital applications in Codex, the district application repository. Product owners shall ensure that the digital applications they purchase and maintain are reported to DTS in Codex, are reviewed annually, and that written assurance of compliance with current WCAG standards is provided to DTS for inclusion in the Codex entry.  The documentation shall provide visibility of the vendor’s assurance that they comply with current WCAG standards. 

St. Vrain Valley Schools