School Districts are Receiving Letters of Complaint from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR)

PROVIDENCE, RI--(Marketwired - December 07, 2017) - Schools and school districts across the country have received letters of complaint from The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and the frequency of these letters does not seem to be slowing down. The OCR is holding schools and school districts accountable for the accessibility of their websites.

Websites and digital materials are required to be accessible to people with disabilities, just as brick-and-mortar commercial buildings are required to follow standards to make their location equally accessible to all people, no matter their physical limitation. To fully commit to an equal experience for all students and parents, schools of the twenty-first century must embrace the advantages that accessible websites provide and start thinking about their digital presence being a place of public accommodation.

In many cases, when a school receives a complaint letter from the OCR, school officials don't know where to begin to identify potential website barriers, let alone what they need to do to address the issues. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility has updated its free and confidential automated scanning tool to assist schools and school districts in finding a reliable starting point.

Learn more about where to start here: https://www.boia.org/blog/school-districts-and-web-accessibility-where-to-start

About the Bureau of Internet Accessibility:

Mobile and Web accessibility compliance is a requirement, but trying to understand the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines and how they relate to ADA, ACAA, OCR, AODA, Section 508 and other compliance requirements, can be confusing. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility (BoIA) has been helping eliminate the accessibility digital divide since 2001. The organization's reports, tools, and services have assisted businesses in improving, maintaining, and proving the accessibility of their websites. With services that include self-help tools, audits, training, remediation and implementation support, BoIA has the experience and expertise to ensure that accessibility efforts are worthwhile and successful. For more information, visit www.BoIA.org.