[NFB_of_Georgia] Fwd: [State-Affiliate-Leadership-List] Survey Shows Accessibility Barriers on Forty-eight State Coronavirus Websites

Fri May 1 02:41:14 UTC 2020

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Danielsen, Chris via State-Affiliate-Leadership-List <
state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 5:08 PM
Subject: [State-Affiliate-Leadership-List] Survey Shows Accessibility
Barriers on Forty-eight State Coronavirus Websites
To: NCB Staff <NCBStaff at nfb.org>, State Affiliate Leadership List <
state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>, nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
<nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
CC: Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org>

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Survey Shows Accessibility Barriers on Forty-eight State Coronavirus
Websites*

*National Federation of the Blind Demands States Take Swift Action*

*Baltimore, Maryland (April 30, 2020):* The National Federation of the
Blind, America’s civil rights organization of the blind, responded today to
a recent survey
<https://themarkup.org/2020/04/21/blind-users-struggle-with-state-coronavirus-websites>
finding accessibility barriers on forty-eight of fifty state websites that
provide critical information about the coronavirus pandemic. The survey was
commissioned by *The Markup* and conducted by Web AIM <https://webaim.org/>,
a widely respected web accessibility organization. Web AIM tested the sites
with its automated tool WAVE <https://wave.webaim.org/>, which it
acknowledges detects fewer than forty percent of web accessibility errors,
indicating that these sites may have additional issues that were not
detected. The tool found no accessibility issues on the sites of Maine and
New Mexico.

“Equal access to websites is always critical, and we have been advocating
for an accessible internet for over twenty years,” said Mark Riccobono,
President of the National Federation of the Blind. “During this national
emergency, it is particularly important that blind people get timely and
accurate information about the coronavirus and the steps that we should be
taking to protect ourselves and our families. We realize that many of these
websites were put up quickly and that the ever-changing situation means
that they must be updated frequently, but state and federal laws still
require equal access, and blind Americans demand it. At the same time, we
are willing to collaborate with state governments by providing technical
expertise and testing by blind users through our Center of Excellence in
Nonvisual Access to Education, Public Information, and Commerce. We urge
state governments to work with the National Federation of the Blind to
identify and rectify all accessibility barriers quickly and to put plans in
place to maintain accessibility going forward.”

Improperly coded websites cannot be read accurately by screen-reader
technology used by the blind, which converts the content of websites into
synthesized speech or into Braille that can be displayed on a connected
device known as a refreshable Braille display. In addition, poor color
contrast and the inability to adjust text size make sites difficult to read
for low-vision users, including seniors. Common barriers identified by the
survey and in interviews with blind people conducted by *The Markup*
include poor contrast, unlabeled buttons and graphics, infographics whose
content is not also presented as text or in tabular form, and PDFs that are
only images or are not properly tagged to be read by screen readers.

*###*

*About the National Federation of the Blind *

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded
in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the
fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of
blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families
with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We
believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to
transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and
initiatives at www.nfb.org.

*CONTACT:*

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org

Also available at:
https://www.nfb.org/about-us/press-room/survey-shows-accessibility-barriers-forty-eight-state-coronavirus-websites

Christopher S. Danielsen, J.D.

Director of Public Relations

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

(410) 659-9314, Ext. 2330 | cdanielsen at nfb.org

Twitter: @rlawyer

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>

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<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>    [image: Twitter]
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>    [image: Youtube]
<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we
work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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-- 
Dorothy Griffin - President
National Federation of the Blind of Georgia
dgriffin at nfbga.org
770-374-4832

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.