"Skip navigation" links are same-page links that allow users to skip past redundant navigational links that often appear across the top and/or down the left side of websites. For an overview of these links, see the AccessIT Knowledge Base article What is a "skip navigation" link?.
The provides information to assist government agencies in making informed decisions about electronic and information technology (E&IT) acquisitions to assure compliance.
In HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the "longdesc" attribute was specifically designed to allow for long descriptions of complex images. This contrasts with the "alt" attribute, which describes relatively simple images using a minimal amount of text. The "longdesc" attribute allows authors to link to a separate page (for example, longdesc="/doit/img1description.html") in which the image is described in detail. This is particularly useful for complex images such as graphs and charts.
There is a growing trend on websites in education and elsewhere toward providing a navigational system that includes dynamic menus, menus that expand as users point to them with the mouse. Proponents of dynamic menus argue that they reduce page clutter and provide a familiar, organized interface to a website, comparable to that of most software applications.
The following sampling of online resources includes both websites and discussion lists related to accessible information technology. Many of the websites listed include online courses and/or tutorials.
DO-IT
Resources on electronic and information technology, postsecondary education, and careers for people with disabilities.
In most cases of discrimination on the basis of disability in a postsecondary institution, and certainly in web accessibility cases, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (§504) and the (ADAAA) will be appropriate avenues for bringing a complaint. has responsibility for enforcing both these federal laws in public educational settings and would hear a complaint regarding inaccessible websites.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended in 1998, requires federal agencies to ensure accessibility of software (and other electronic and information technology) that it develops, procures, maintains, or uses. The Access Board published a set of standards to support Section 508. The final standards document, , includes a "Software Applications and Operating Systems" section.
The Access Board is an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among Federal agencies and to directly represent the public, particularly people with disabilities. Half of the Board members are representatives from most of the Federal departments. The other half is comprised of members of the public appointed by the President, a majority of whom must have a disability.
Title II of the ADA (which covers public postsecondary institutions) requires that public institutions must give "primary consideration" to the requests of the individual with a disability when determining what type of auxiliary aid and service is necessary ().
There are many examples in society of innovations that were originally intended for people with disabilities but that have provided access benefits to all people (curb cuts and automatic door openers are two of the most common). Accessible web content is a similar innovation. Web content designed in a way that is accessible to people with disabilities additionally benefits many nondisabled users and often benefits all users. Following are specific examples: