10 minutes
Inaccessible technology blocks participation See how a single inaccessible system can lock people out of a job, a benefit, a class or a public meeting, and why the leaders who approve technology own that outcome.
What you’ll be able to do Explain how inaccessible technology blocks employment, services, education and civic participation, using examples from agency systems and the public they serve. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: As the sponsoring executive, how do you see this? Document a next step for Inaccessible technology blocks participation: List the systems in your area that a person must use to apply, work, learn or be heard. Ask the accessibility lead which of them have been tested with a keyboard and a screen reader. The front door is a login page A generation ago, an inaccessible building kept people out of a job or a service. Today the building has an accessible entrance and the application is online only. The applicant tracking system, the benefits portal, the learning platform, the meeting software and the public comment form are now the front door, and when they cannot be used by keyboard, by screen reader, with captions or with enough time, they lock out a predictable group of people: blind and low-vision users, people who cannot use a mouse, Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants, people with cognitive and learning disabilities and many others.
The people locked out are counted nowhere. An applicant who cannot complete the online form does not appear as an incomplete application; a staff member who cannot use the training platform appears as noncompliant with a requirement; a resident who cannot join the virtual hearing appears as uninterested. The damage is real and the reports are clean, which is why leaders who approve technology seldom see what it did.
The requirements are settled. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium define what accessible digital content and interfaces do. Section 508 sets the federal standard for information and communication technology, and the State of Minnesota maintains an accessibility standard for state agencies that Minnesota IT Services publishes and supports. The Department of Justice has made clear that state and local government web content and mobile applications are within the ADA’s reach. None of this has to be invented by the agency. It has to be required, in writing, before the purchase.
Four things one inaccessible system can block Employment Services Learning Civic participation
An applicant tracking system with unlabeled fields or a timed assessment that cannot be paused ends a candidacy before a person sees it. A time-and-attendance or performance system that cannot be used with a screen reader makes an employee dependent on others for routine tasks.
An eligibility portal with a mouse-only date picker, a document upload that gives no feedback, or a session that times out during a slow, careful completion turns an eligible person into a nonapplicant.
A learning platform that cannot be navigated by keyboard or whose assessments are drag-and-drop only makes required training impossible for some staff, then records them as out of compliance.
A public hearing on a platform with captions disabled, or a comment form that screen readers cannot complete, removes people from decisions about their own services while the record shows a public process took place.
Ask who tested it before you approve it What you can change You control whether a system reaches staff or the public without anyone having tried it with a keyboard and a screen reader.
What to watch for Do not accept a vendor’s statement of conformance as a test. Do not approve a go-live with a plan to accommodate by exception whoever gets stuck.
Your next step For every technology approval on your desk, ask for the test record before you sign, and ask for the interim access plan if it is not there.
Standards a leader should be able to name WCAG
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium. The widely adopted technical standard for accessible web content and interfaces, organized around content being perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Conformance is usually specified at level AA.
Section 508
The federal standard requiring that information and communication technology developed, procured, maintained or used by federal agencies be accessible. Its standards and its procurement guidance are widely used as a model by states.
State of Minnesota accessibility standard
The accessibility standard for state agencies, published and supported by Minnesota IT Services. The agency’s accessibility lead can say how it applies to a given purchase.
ADA Title II and the web
The Department of Justice has made clear that web content and mobile applications of state and local governments must be accessible. Legal counsel and the ADA coordinator advise on specifics.
Questions to ask before approving any technology Is this anyone’s only route to a job, a benefit, required training or a public decision?
Who has tried it with a keyboard alone and with a screen reader, on our real tasks, and where is the record?
Are captions, transcripts and other access features on by default, or does someone have to ask?
What does the contract let us require if it fails after launch?
What is the interim access plan if a defect is found on the first day?
Carry this forward Technology is now the front door to employment, benefits, learning and public input; when it is inaccessible the door is locked for a predictable group of people.
The people locked out are counted nowhere, which is why leaders rarely see the cost.
Accessibility requirements for technology are settled and specific; the work is requiring them, not inventing them.
One knowledge check; a written list of the systems in your area that are a person’s only route to a job, a service or a decision.
List the systems in your area that a person must use to apply, work, learn or be heard. Ask the accessibility lead which of them have been tested with a keyboard and a screen reader.
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Course overview Next lesson 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.
