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DiverseAbility & Accessibility in Infomation Technology (DAAIT):

Policy Page for Educational Institutions
Guidelines for Developing the Accessibility of Information Technology, & Facilities that House IT

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act covers educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act covers entities that receive state or local governmental funding. Both require that each educational program, “when viewed in its entirety” is accessible to students with disabilities. The following are key concerns in determining the overall accessibility of computing services, and facilities in an education setting.

Assure that all facilities are physically accesssible: It is required that publicly-funded schools comply with the accessibility provisions in either the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), or those set forth in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). It is recommended that all schools both publicly, and privately funded, utilize the ADAAGuidelines when constructing new facilities and to reference those standards when trying to make an existing facility physically accessible. Under the programmatic accessibility requirement found in both Title II of the ADA and 504, institutions may change the location of classrooms and programs to assure that they are physically accessible to individuals with mobility disabilities. However; if a program or class cannot be moved, then the institution must make that facility accessible.

1) Relevant Federal Regulations and Guidelines:


2) Relevant State Statutes, Plans, Agency Policies and Procedures: (Note Future / Existing)

3) For more information on making the physical environment, including computer labs, more accessible, please review the following:

Assure "effective communication" by providing accessible electronic and information technology

Educational institutions covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and/or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act must provide communication access to students with disabilities that is as equally effective as that provided to other students. For schools that use the web or any type of electronic or information technology to provide instruction, programs, or to disseminate information must assure accessibility.

Educational institutions should look at barriers to information access posed by design of their web site, software programs, and hardware equipment that is not adaptable for access by persons with disabilities.

It is recommended that schools use the guidelines in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to identify criteria an institution should consider in evaluating the accessibility of electronic and information technology an institution is currently using or or planning to purchase. Consider:

1) Relevant Federal Regulations and Guidelines:

2) Relevant State Statutes, Plans, Agency Policies and Procedures: (Note Future / Existing)

Review Functional Performance Criteria to assure that user input, output, and control with E&IT products include at least one alternative hardware/software mode that does not require:

For more information on what is Functional Performance Criteria see: http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?100

1) Relevant Federal Regulations and Guidelines


2) Relevant State Statutes, Plans, Agency Policies and Procedures: (Future / Existing)

Recommend developing guidelines for alternative information preparation, documentation, support, and training such as alternative formatting via optical character recognition (OCR) scanning regarding print-to-electronic text.


1) Relevant Federal Regulations and Guidelines


2) Relevant State Statutes, Plans, Agency Policies and Procedures: (Future / Existing)

See also Kentucky Postsecondary Textbook Act as a model for developing an accessible textbook law.

These materials are for review and use by those interested in the incorporating accessibility into state statutes, RFP’s, contracts, plans, and policies to benefit all users of E&IT in K-12 through post-secondary school systems.

Send Comments or Questions Regarding Implementation Strategies/Resources
To: Karen Courtney Peterson, KarenC@state.nm.us

DiverseAbility.Net is a Computer-based Accessibility Services Assistance ( CASA ) Resource of the Disability Law Resource Project and New Mexico Technology Assistance Program . All are federally funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, U.S. Department of Education

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