Accessibility Policy

It is the policy of the State of Florida and its Local Governments to ensure that people with hearing, visual and other disabilities have equal access to public information that is available on the Internet and the World Wide Web. It is the direct responsibility of the agency and its web page developers to become familiar with the guidelines for achieving universal accessibility and to apply these principles in designing and creating any official Local Government Portal.

It has been estimated that 54 million people or 20.6% of all Americans have some level of disability. This is a large segment of society waiting for opportunities to interact with all levels of government.

Estimates indicate that 95-99 percent of all websites are inaccessible at some level. These statistics are staggering considering the number of sites that come online daily. As of January 2002, there were an estimated 100 million website online.

The use of the guidelines below will ensure that website created by the Local Governments are developed to serve the largest possible audience. Following these guidelines will also provide an added benefit to those users with text-based browsers, slow(er) modem connections and/or no multi-media capabilities on their computer.

ACCESS Board Accessibility Standards Published Dec. 21, 2000

1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via “alt”, “longdesc”, or in element content).
Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more
Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a website comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with 1194.21(a) through (l).
When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.

For more information about the Access Board and guidelines visit their website. http://www.access-board.gov/