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Community Compensation Guidelines
Public policy discussions should involve the individuals who are being or have been impacted by that policy or subject matter. By embracing co-creation, we advance a reality that people are the experts of their own lives and are partners in the government decisions that impact them.
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Accessibility Statement
Digital Accessibility Statement
We at the Office of Equity work to ensure our content, events, and website are accessible to people with disabilities. Learn how we prioritize accessibility, accessibility tips, and let us know what changes could make our website more accessible. We strive to do so with transparency and share the info below about the steps we have taken with the hopes that others can do the same, and can offer us advice about developing even more accessible protocols.
What are the Accessibility policies?
We aim to meet or exceed the requirements of both Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended in 1998, as well as Washington State’s Accessibility Policy 188.
Policy 188 establishes that Washington state agencies will follow guidelines for accessibility. These guidelines are called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and called WCAG (pronounced “wick-Ahg”) for short. Specifically, Washington state agencies are currently required to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. The “2.1” refers to the version of WCAG and “AA” refers to the level of criteria. We will incorporate components from new versions, such as WCAG 2.2, as they are developed and consider our capacity as well as the voices of people with disabilities.
Alternate Format
Do you need a large print version of a document, Braille version, or a document in a language other than English? Do you need a plain language version of a document?
Please submit your request to access@equity.wa.gov.
What to expect from our content?
- Images
- Images on our website have an “alternative text” that describes the image. This can support people with low vision, people who are Blind, who use an assistive technology called a “screen reader.” These descriptions can help people who have slow internet who want to view the text description and don’t wish to load the image. Images with empty alt text are considered decorative and do not add meaning.
- Videos
- All of our videos since May 2023 are transcribed and captioned manually by a human being (not auto-generated). In addition, by December 2024, all new videos will have a transcript available on the webpage to support accessibility for people who prefer written formats or with low internet connections who prefer not to load videos. These captions can help support d/Deaf, Hard of Hearing people. These captions can also help English Language Learners.
- Forms
- We have Smartsheet forms and PDF forms. We also provide Smartsheet forms for convenience and for people who do not edit PDFs. We test all new forms for compatibility with assistive technology. If you encounter a barrier or have a suggestion, email us.
- Headings
- We make headings on pages so that people can skim what a page talks about, and this helps people using screen readers and/or braille quickly get a sense for what’s on a page.
- Links
- Our links describe there the link is going so that people using a screen reader know where the link will take them. If the document is likely to be seen in a printed format, we will consider keeping the entire link.
Past Documents and Technology
Our past content may not yet meet our newly established accessibility standards going forward. For that reason, please let us know if you need a document or piece of content, and notice you may need a different format, so we can prioritize this. We want to consider what is most needed.
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Accessibility FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Digital Equity the same as Digital Accessibility?
In plain terms, Digital Equity can refer to, but is not limited to, ensuring people having access to internet in the places they live, work, and play. It also refers to access to devices for communication such as phones and computers that can access the internet.
Digital Accessibility refers to making sure content posted online is accessible for all users to view, understand, and use regardless of ability status. In today’s age, many state agencies conduct a lot of their business online, which means users are using government websites to get services such as registering to vote or applying for medical insurance. These online technologies need to be compatible with users who have disabilities and/or are using assistive technology.
What is the difference between accessibility and digital accessibility?
Digital Accessibility refers specifically to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, also called WCAG (pronounced “wick-Ahg”) for short. WCAG is a list of guidelines that explain how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.
Accessibility is a broader umbrella for many types of access, such as physical access to buildings.
How do I give feedback?
To give feedback on the state policy, Wa-Tech, a state agency that manages the standards of state agency websites, is in the process of updating Policy 188.
If you are interested in submitting public comment or feedback about what should be in the Policy, please email access@equity.wa.gov with the subject line “Policy 188” to get info about the next opportunity for input.
If you want to give input to our Accessibility Plan, please email access@equity.wa.gov with the subject line “Access Plan.” As technology is always changing and community needs can shift over time, we too believe that our approach must evolve over time and for that reason your feedback is needed – what to keep the same, what to take out, and what to add.
If you want to let us know how you’re finding our website and alert us to any areas of potential improvement, please know we take this feedback seriously and have altered our future documents, forms, newsletters, events, thanks to feedback from state employees and the public.
What is Policy 188?
Washington state’s OCIO Policy 188 establishes the expectation for state agencies that people with disabilities have access to and use of information and data and be provided access to the same services and content that is available to persons without disabilities, unless providing direct access is not possible due to technical or legal limitations.
Ongoing Training
We recognize that people have a variety of exposure to digital accessibility and accessibility in general. We take seriously finding what tools, training, and resources are needed to further accessibility. We also recognize that many teams and agencies have smaller offices, or may be new teams entirely, such as ourselves. As we build the road, we seek to create pathways so we are intentional about what we do with our limited capacity AND prioritize to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
Potential Limitations
Many of the existing softwares or technology that are used by the Washington State Government were obtained before Digital Accessibility was part of the requirements. Therefore we will make every effort to create an accessible piece of content, but there may be limitations due to the vendor that controls that product. In that case, we will check with you and see what the solution, such as an alternate document, could be.
Thank you!
Many things we are building from the ground up or may be the first of their kind, so we appreciate your input in building our vision. We produce a lot of innovative content with a small Communications Team! We thank you for engaging and working with us as we create an accessible and equitable future for Washingtonians, together.