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Dept. of Administrative &
Financial Services
Office of Information Technology
These
Standards and Best Practices are incorporated as Appendix A of the
“Accessibility Policy on Effective Electronic Communications.”
1. Preamble
2. Captioning
3. Web Documents
4. Electronic Slide Presentations and
Learning Tools
5. Telephone, Relay Calls, and TTY
Communications
The
enforceable standards in these “Standards and Best Practices” are those that
State employees and contractors shall follow to comply with the State of
Advisory
Note – Additional
Recommendations and Methods:
Also
included in this document as additional guidance are the best practices and
other recommendations that State employees and contractors should be aware of
and can follow unless the intent of the Policy can be met through equivalent
practices.
Methods to
achieve accessibility are continuously improving. Thus, it is appropriate to use practices that
are up to date.
A. Intent.
The
intent is to make available in appropriate alternative formats and to provide
effective communication so that people with disabilities, including but not
limited to people who have vision impairments or who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing, are provided effective communication.
Advisory
Guidance – Alternative Formats:
Usually,
conveying information in alternative formats is effective if the same content
is communicated auditorily and/or visually.
There
should always be an electronic version of a written document. This allows the material to be converted to
alternative format (e.g., Braille or large print) or to be provided on disk or
by email, as needed.
The ADA
Accessibility Coordinator can provide a list of “Disability-Related Resources”
for obtaining auxiliary aids and services.
The
following sections of Appendix A explain standards and best practices related
to various media in more detail.
Advisory
Guidance – Planning and Production
for Timely Availability:
To “make
materials available” in alternative format and to “provide effective communcation” involves three types of activity: planning,
production of materials for distribution, and readiness to provide accommodations.
Planning. State employees and contractors must plan ahead for the anticipated audiences, including identifying what formats will be appropriate for general use and distribution and how to be ready to make further accommodations (see Timely Availability, below) when requested.
Production. State employees and contractors shall produce materials in formats appropriately accessible for the known audience to whom the information is presented.
Timely Availability of Auxiliary Aids and Services. When a person with a disability requests auxiliary aids or services, such as a sign language interpreter or alternative format materials, staff or contractors shall provide them in a timely manner, which means as soon as practicable based on the necessary logistical arrangements for a requested format but in no case later than ten business days from the request.
Best
Practice 1(1).
Planning
with universal design in mind is key to ensuring that
an audience can easily use materials.
·
Learn about universal
design to know how to judge what formats are appropriate in various settings.
·
Plan for and
include funding for accessibility in the agency’s annual budget process so that
resources are available when needed.
·
Planning ahead
means allowing enough time to identify and carry out preparatory steps based on
the nature of the event, the variety of materials, and who will be the
audience.
·
Authors need to
anticipate how materials will be used and distributed and then prepare the
original document properly. For example,
if the participants are known, it is appropriate to contact participants to
ascertain individual access needs.
Best
Practice 1(2).
Learn how
to make appropriate auxiliary aids and services available when necessary to
ensure effective communication. For
example, when preparing for a workshop, program announcements should say that
auxiliary aids and services can be made available and must list the contact
person who will help meet participants’ communication needs.
Advisory
Guidance – Requests from
Individuals with Disabilities:
State and
federal law require the agency to provide an opportunity for individuals with
disabilities to request an auxiliary aid or service or other accommodation so
that the request can be honored in a timely manner. Individuals who need auxiliary aids and
services or other accommodations should make their needs known to the
designated State employees.
Notice. The agency should include a
notice in program materials describing what is available and how to make a
request for an auxiliary aid or service or other accommodation.
Primary consideration. When
an auxiliary aid or service is requested, the agency should give primary
consideration to the choice expressed by the individual. "Primary consideration" means that
the public entity must honor the choice, unless there is an equally effective
means of communication available.
Best
Practice 1(3). Provide notice to the
public with enough lead-time to meet requests.
Best
Practice 1(4). It is important to
consult with the individual to determine the most appropriate auxiliary aid or
service, because the individual with a disability is most familiar with his or
her disability and is in the best position to determine what type of aid or
service will be effective.
Video
media with an audio track, such as streaming video, videotapes and film clips,
owned or produced by the State and intended for use by either State employees
or the public, must be captioned according to this section.
Vendors
who can provide captioning are listed in “Disability-Related Resources.”
The
captioning may be either open or closed.
An
agency that obtains or produces video media intended for use by either State
employees or the public shall ensure that it is captioned.
(1) Video Production. When an agency produces, contracts with a
vendor, or otherwise arranges for production of video media, the agency shall
ensure the product is captioned irrespective of medium.
(2) Video Acquisitions. When video media are offered to the State for
sale or free of charge and there is a version with captions, the State shall
only purchase or select the captioned version.
(3) Uncaptioned Acquisitions. For items that are not available for purchase
with captions, or for items given to the State without captions, the State
agency shall assure that captioning will be added by requesting captioning from
the producer of the item in its next edition or by obtaining a script and
adding captioning.
Material
already owned by the State as of the date of this policy need not be modified
to include closed captioning when alternative methods, such as provision of a
script, effectively communicate the content.
Comments
for the record on video that are accompanied by a transcript need not be
captioned.
State
employees and contractors shall provide auxiliary aids and services appropriate
for the known audience during videoconferencing or other broadcast events and
in any recording of the event. Effective
communication depends on who attends an event and what is being presented. It may include interpreters, closed or open
captioning, or description of displayed material.
Web-based
documents and materials shall comply with Maine State Web Standards and Web
Accessibility Policy of the State of
http://www.maine.gov/oit/accessibility/policy/webpolicy.htm
and http://www.maine.gov/oit/standards/webstandards.htm.
Advisory Guidance: Web Resources.
Among the many resources that describe techniques
for designing websites to be accessible, the
http://www.maine.gov/webmasters/resources/accessibility/index.htm.
In addition, WebAIM has one of the most comprehensive sites for learning and exploring at all levels, including many training articles: http://www.webaim.org/.
The
content of electronic visual materials for presentation or learning shall be
made accessible for vision-impaired individuals.
Electronic
presentations and learning tools that are posted on the web shall be in a
format readable using screen readers.
Advisory Guidance – Visual Materials:
Methods for making visual materials accessible will vary according to equipment and software being used and who is in the audience. Note the following recommendations as guidance:
Authoring. State employees and contractors who author electronic visual materials for presentations or as learning tools using standard desktop software programs shall produce the materials in a format that is readable by visually impaired persons using screen readers.
Presentation. State employees and contractors who will be using electronic visual materials for live presentation or training shall provide them upon request to an individual who has a disability, in advance of the event, in a format readable by the individual. During public presentations or training, the presenters shall ensure the content is effectively communicated for audience members who cannot see the material.
Advisory Guidance – Slide Presentations:
Guidance for creating accessible PowerPoint presentations is available from WebAIM: http://www.webaim.org/. Additional resources, such as for publishing to electronic presentations on the Web, are listed in “Disability Related Resources.” The following are alternative methods for providing accessibility for electronic presentations:
Best Practice 4(1). Following these steps is one method for creating an electronic file of a PowerPoint presentation readable by people who use screen readers:
1. Save the PowerPoint presentation as an RTF file.
2. Print both the native PowerPoint presentation file and the RTF file.
3. Compare the differences in the contents of the two files.
4. Type into the RTF file whatever information appears in the PowerPoint presentation but is missing from the RTF version (e.g., text, the meaning of images and of charts or tables).
5. Forward the updated RTF version of the presentation to members of the audience who need it, in advance of the actual presentation, so they can review it before the presentation occurs.
Best Practice 4(2). Presenters should communicate the content of any visual displays or projections aurally, such as by reading or describing what is shown during a presentation, as appropriate to the audience or participants.
The
State of
Advisory Guidance – Answering Calls:
Whenever possible, a person rather than an automated answering machine shall answer public agency phone calls. A person should answer TTY calls, whether answering using NexTalk on a workstation or answering using a TTY.
Advisory Note – NexTalk:
NexTalk is a technology most State agencies use for communication with TTY users. It is a network-based system with special provisions for the communication needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing with advanced communications and messaging features. It is a blending of telephone and computer technologies which links TTY callers with every NexTalk personal computer user on the local and wide area networks. This system can be compared to an instant messaging system. NexTalk increases the rate of successful TTY communications.
Incoming
TTY calls being transferred from the State operator or other number shall be
routed to the appropriate staff with NexTalk at their
desk. Callers who reach an unattended
workstation shall be automatically re-routed to an attended workstation, or be
given the option of leaving a message or returning to the State operator.
When
callers make a direct call to a State employee who is unavailable, the
answering system shall be configured so the caller will be able to leave a
message. State employees shall return
all messages in a timely manner.
Each
agency shall ensure that sufficient State employees know how to participate in
relay calls and that staff answering or placing NexTalk
or TTY calls are trained on how to use the equipment and to communicate with
TTY callers.
In
addition to the general number listed in phone directories to reach the State
operator, each department shall list any direct NexTalk
lines or TTY numbers it provides for public access. The State or agency number for TTY caller
access shall accompany other public contact phone numbers on any publications
or communications (letterhead, business cards, brochures or fliers, facsimile
cover pages, posters, web sites, public service announcements).
Each
agency shall ensure that equipment is working properly.
State
employees shall report technical operational problems to the OIT Help
Desk. The agency shall make the
responsibility of employees using NexTalk or TTY
communications a part of the employee’s performance review.