9 minutes
Policy and content that are accessible at the source Set the policy language and the content process requirements so documents, forms, communications and rules are accessible when created, not repaired afterward.
What you’ll be able to do Set policy and content-process requirements so documents, forms, communications and rules are accessible at the source, and write policy language that does not create barriers. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: As the policy leader, what do you ask for before the rule advances? Draft Before this goes out: a four-line check for your work, including source, language, channels. Fix the template, check before publishing, name the owner The agency produces thousands of documents, forms, notices, slide decks and web pages a year, almost all of them by staff who are not accessibility specialists. Remediating them afterward is endless and expensive. The leadership decision is to make access the default at the source: accessible templates for every high-use document type, authoring tools that have been tested, a required check before anything is published or sent at scale, and a named owner for each content stream who answers for it at review points. The accessibility lead sets the standard and tests the templates; communications owns the templates; each unit owns what it produces with them.
Policies and rules are content, and they create barriers of their own. A single way to apply or renew, a rigid window, an in-person requirement, a demand for a diagnosis or a doctor’s letter where a description of need would do, a notice that is only mailed: each is a policy choice, and each has a more accessible alternative that serves the same purpose. Build an accessibility and equity review into the policy development process, before a rule advances, with the ADA coordinator and the accessibility lead among the reviewers.
Plain language belongs here as well. A rule or notice that a person cannot understand is not accessible even if it is technically readable. The agency’s writing standards and plain-language reviewers are part of the content process, not an afterthought to it.
Content process requirements a leader can set Accessible templates for notices, letters, forms, slides, newsletters and web pages, tested by the accessibility lead and maintained by communications.
Authoring and publishing tools tested with assistive technology before they are approved for use.
A required accessibility and plain-language check before anything is published or sent at scale, with the evidence kept.
A named owner for each content stream who reports on template status and defects at review points.
Training for content creators built into a new employee's first weeks and refreshed when templates or tools change.
A barrier-report route printed on public documents and web pages, with an owner who responds.
Review the rule for the barriers it creates What you can change You control whether a policy advances with one channel, a rigid window and a diagnosis requirement, or with alternatives built in.
What to watch for Do not let an accommodation sentence at the end substitute for an accessible rule. Do not accept a scanned or image-only notice as the official communication of anything.
Your next step Add an accessibility and equity review step, with the ADA coordinator and accessibility lead, to your area’s policy development checklist.
Before this goes out: a four-line check The check every content owner runs before publishing or sending at scale. Print it, post it, build it into the routine.
Source Made from the current accessible template; real text, not an image; headings, alt text, labeled fields and descriptive links in place.
Language Plain language checked; the reader can tell what it is, what to do and by when in the first few lines.
Channels More than one way to respond or act; a phone number and a named contact for alternative formats; no requirement to disclose a diagnosis to get help.
Owner and route The content owner is named; the barrier-report route is printed; the check is recorded for the review point.
Add these four lines to the publishing checklist for your unit and ask the content owner to sign each one.
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Download this published draft Policy choices that create barriers, and the alternative One channel to apply or renew
Alternative: online, phone, paper and in person, each leading to the same result, with the accessible version the default rather than the exception.
A rigid window
Alternative: a window with a plain extension process that asks what the person needs, not for a diagnosis or a doctor’s letter.
In person only
Alternative: an equivalent remote or proxy-free option, so people who cannot travel keep their privacy and independence.
A mailed, scanned notice as the only communication
Alternative: an accessible notice from a template, offered in the person’s chosen format and channel, with a named contact for alternatives.
Carry this forward Most inaccessible content is produced by staff using inaccessible templates and untested tools; fix the templates and the tools, not the staff.
A content process has three places to build in access: the template, the check before publication and the owner who answers for it.
Policies create barriers too: single channels, rigid timelines, and requirements to appear in person or disclose a diagnosis are policy choices that can be changed.
One knowledge check; a list of the three highest-use templates in your area and their accessibility status.
Ask communications and the accessibility lead which of your area’s three highest-use templates are accessible at the source, and set a date for the rest.
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