Accessibility Policy

In response to the need to insure equal access to electronic and information technologies, Iowa Interactive on behalf of IowaTaxAndTags.org has developed a set of standards for Web page design. In recognition of those individuals with visual, physical or developmental disabilities IowaTaxAndTags.org has taken steps to make government information accessible to all.

Design Standards

IowaTaxAndTags.org has adopted the Design of HTML Pages to increase accessibility to users with disabilities as the primary guideline to meet the objectives of Section 508 compliance.

• Every graphic image will have an "alt" tag and a short description that is intuitive to the user. If a graphic image is used as a navigation element, it will contain text description and direction that is intuitive to the user.
• Every graphic image that uses an image map, alternative text of the hyperlink will be provided.
• The Site will have descriptive, intuitive text links and avoid the use of vague references such as "click," "here," "link," or "this."
• An alternative form of access will be made available for online forms, such as an email address or phone number.
• The use of frames will be avoided since they cannot be read intelligently by screen readers, create navigation problems and are not supported by all browsers. IowaTaxAndTags.org cannot be held responsible for sites outside the network that utilize frames.
• Tables will include textual information displayed in a linear form across the table, as well as cells will be named to aid as reference.
• Multiple browser testing will be conducted on the various versions of Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer.

Resources

The Law

The Section 508 Web Site is an excellent source for general information, standards, evaluation, events, and resources surrounding Section 508, which will impact electronic and information technology on the Web.
http://www.section508.gov/

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The content of this document directly relates to the Federal government and any public or private industry contracting with the Federal government.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508/508law.html

Enforcing ADA compliance - The Department of Justice handles complaints and enforcement
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/enforce.htm

Title II, Section 508 speaks directly to state, local governments and all other public entities. This highlights page provides a concise overview, abbreviated information on specific chapters that must comply with ADA standards and information about the complaint and enforcement process.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/t2hlt95.htm

Software Utilities

Sun's Java Accessibility Utilities - an excellent source of utility classes designed to help assistive technologies interact with Web development components.
http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/jaccess-1.2/doc/

Adobe's PDF Converter allows you to convert regular PDF files to html. One of the required standards is providing and HTML alternative to PDF files.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html