11 minutes
Expectations for every business unit Set specific, checkable expectations for procurement, information technology, human resources, communications, facilities and program operations, and know what each looks like when met.
What you’ll be able to do Set specific, checkable expectations for procurement, information technology, human resources, communications, facilities and program operations, and identify the evidence that each has been met. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: What went wrong with the expectation? Document a next step for Expectations for every business unit: Choose the function in your area with the largest access impact and write its expectation, owner and evidence. Put it on the next review agenda. Checkable, not aspirational An expectation is a promise the organization can verify. “Prioritize accessibility” cannot be verified, which is why every unit can report meeting it. “No public-facing form is launched until it passes keyboard and screen-reader testing, with the test record kept by the accessibility lead” can be verified, and the verification does not require judging anyone; it requires looking for a test record.
Each function has a few decisions that carry most of its access impact. For procurement it is what the solicitation requires and what the contract lets the agency enforce. For information technology it is what gets tested before release and what defaults are set. For human resources it is how long accommodation takes and whether managers know what to do. For communications it is whether templates are accessible at the source. For facilities it is the path of travel and the emergency plan. For program operations it is whether there is more than one way to apply, attend and be heard. Expectations aimed at these decisions change more than expectations aimed at everything.
Expectations also need a reader. A sponsor who reviews the evidence at agreed review points, asks about gaps and follows up is what turns an expectation into an operating norm. Without that, the most carefully written expectation becomes guidance, and guidance is what busy units set aside.
One checkable expectation per function Procurement Information technology Human resources Communications Facilities Program operations
Expectation: Every solicitation for technology, content or services that people will use names the accessibility standard, requires evidence of conformance, and includes remediation timelines and remedies in the contract.
Evidence: The clause in the solicitation template and a record of conformance evidence reviewed before award.
Expectation: No system or major update reaches the public or staff until it passes keyboard, screen-reader and contrast testing, and captions and other access features are on by default.
Evidence: A test record per release and the platform default settings, reviewed by the accessibility lead.
Expectation: Accommodation requests receive a decision within an agreed target, interim access is provided while a request is open, and every supervisor completes accommodation-process training.
Evidence: Aggregate response times and training completion by role, never by named employee.
Expectation: Templates for notices, newsletters, slides and forms are accessible at the source, and public documents are published as real text with headings, alt text and descriptive links.
Evidence: Template review by the accessibility lead and a sample check of published documents at each review point.
Expectation: Every public meeting room and service location has a step-free route during all hours of use, an accessible restroom on the same floor, and an evacuation plan that accounts for people who cannot hear an alarm or use stairs.
Evidence: A current access survey per location and the written evacuation plan.
Expectation: Every service offers more than one way to apply, attend and be heard, and staff scripts and instructions include how to offer and arrange access without requiring disclosure of a diagnosis.
Evidence: The channel list per service and the current staff instructions.
Demand evidence you can look at What you can change You control whether a unit reports compliance in a sentence or shows a test record, a template, a response time or a plan.
What to watch for Do not accept “we prioritize accessibility” as a report. Do not let evidence requirements slide into measuring individual employees; the unit of evidence is the process.
Your next step Rewrite the weakest unit expectation in your area so a stranger could check it, and ask for the evidence at the next review.
Signs an expectation is checkable It names a standard, such as keyboard and screen-reader operability or accessible templates at the source.
It names an owner by role, not by committee.
It names the evidence that shows it was met, and that evidence is about a process or product, not a person.
It states when the evidence is reviewed and by whom.
A unit could fail it, and would know it had.
Vague expectation, checkable expectation “Procurement will consider accessibility”
Checkable: every solicitation names the standard, requires conformance evidence and includes remediation remedies; the template and the pre-award review record are the evidence.
“Managers will support accommodations”
Checkable: decisions within an agreed target, interim access while open, all supervisors trained; aggregate response times and training completion by role are the evidence.
“Communications will be accessible”
Checkable: templates accessible at the source and public documents published as real text; template review and a sample check at each review point are the evidence.
“Facilities will be welcoming”
Checkable: step-free route during all hours of use, accessible restroom on the same floor, an evacuation plan for people who cannot hear an alarm or use stairs; the access survey and the plan are the evidence.
Carry this forward An expectation is checkable when it names a standard, an owner and the evidence that will show it was met.
Each function has a small number of decisions that determine most of its access impact; expectations should target those.
Unit expectations without a sponsor who reviews them become guidance, and guidance is optional.
One knowledge check; a set of six unit expectations for your area, each with the evidence that will show it is met.
Choose the function in your area with the largest access impact and write its expectation, owner and evidence. Put it on the next review agenda.
Browse and download only. Course notes are not typed or saved on this page.
Reset this lesson
Previous lesson Next lesson Carry this into practice Set up the sponsorship, structure, funding and unit-level expectations that let disability inclusion outlast any one leader.
Return to the experience: What did you notice or try, whose perspective informed it, and what would you keep or adjust?
Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.
