[NFBWATLK] Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Launches New Website Accessibility Technical Assistance Initiative, Ed.gov, May 17, 2018

[Jamal Mazrui]

Thanks for sharing this, Noel.  Of course, this is not a criticism of 
your work at the Department of Education, but I am dismayed by this 
press release in a few ways.


There is no mention of why web accessibility is important to 
implementation of national laws including Section 508, Section 504, and 
IDEA.  No reference is made to teaching the international standard 
called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W3C), which now applies 
to all federal agencies, including Ed websites. Nothing is said about 
technical assistance materials that are already available, which could 
supplement the upcoming webinars announced.

In short, although a few webinars are presumably better than none, this 
press release illuminates the current ignorance of this federal agency 
regarding the field of web accessibility.  The same agency once was one 
of the federal leaders in the subject.  A frustrating regression!

Jamal

On 5/24/2018 10:00 AM, Nightingale, Noel via NFBWATLK wrote:
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> https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-launches-new-website-accessibility-technical-assistance-initiative?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=
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> U.S. Department of Education Launches New Website Accessibility Technical Assistance Initiative
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> Ed.gov
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> May 17, 2018
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> Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press at ed.gov
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> WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced it is launching a new technical assistance initiative to assist schools, districts, state education agencies, libraries, colleges and universities in making their websites and online programs accessible to individuals with disabilities.
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> Through webinars, OCR will provide information technology professionals with vital information on website accessibility, including tips for making their online programs accessible. The initiative announced today, on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, builds on OCR's history of providing technical assistance on this issue to hundreds of stakeholders.
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> "As more educational opportunities are delivered online, we need to ensure those programs, services and activities are accessible to everyone," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, "OCR's technical assistance will help us continue to forge important partnerships with schools for the benefit of students and parents with disabilities."
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> OCR will offer the first three webinars on the following dates:
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> Webinar I: May 29, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. EDT
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> Webinar II: June 5, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. EDT
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> Webinar III: June 12, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. EDT
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> If you are interested in participating in any of these webinars, please send your request to OCRWebAccessTA at ed.gov [link]; include your name, preferred webinar and contact information. You are encouraged to invite your vendors to attend these webinars.
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> Information regarding the scheduling and registration for additional webinars is available on the Department's website at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/pro-students/disability-pr.html?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term [link].
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