Website accessibility

Ch. 6 Ethics & Issues 6-4 p. 328

Should Web Sites be held accountable for accessibility levels for physically challenged people? Yes, I believe that websites should be held accountable for accessibility levels for physically challenged people because the accessibility features help others even if they are not challenged in some way. Within the education community, there is a push to give multi-tier systems of supports in order to help all people, not just those with challenges be successful. Using ideas based on the Response to Intervention website (http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction), making websites accessible to all people through video or audio or translation services would be a part of core instruction for all people.

Should the government require that all Web Sites meet the W3C accessibility guidelines? Why or why not? I believe that unless there is a government mandate, many websites will put accessibility on the back burner because it takes extra resources to convert existing web content into accessible content for all people.

Do Web sites hosted by disability organizations have a moral obligation to meet the guidelines? Why? Absolutely, an organization meant to assist those with a disability have a moral obligation to make their content accessible by the individuals who would need to access their resources. I think of my grandfather who became blind as a young adult due to a familial disease. He needed resources in braille or on tape so he could continue to study in college. Thanks to organizations in his day, he was able to get what he needed to be successful. Today’s students need web resources but more must be done to make them accessible.

What can be done to encourage people and organizations to make their Web sites more accessible? The National Federation for the Blind is even having a conference on Web Accessibility Day ( https://nfb.org/web-accessibility-day ) to help businesses and educational entities implement accessibility of web content and to promote government policy changes.