References
State of Minnesota Accessibility Standard
Remember: It's the Law
The State of Minnesota has mandated that all information system, tools and information comply with the following:
MN Statute 16E.03 ยง Subd. 9. Accessibility Standards. Effective 7/1/2009, this statute requires all state agencies to adhere to standards for accessibility developed by the State Chief Information Officer. These standards incorporate both Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 or to have an exception to the requirements granted by the State CIO. Effective 07/01/2024, the state statute requires all products to follow WCAG 2.1, Levels A and AA.
WCAG Guidelines
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
WCAG 2.1 extends Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [WCAG 2.0],
which was published as a W3C Recommendation December 2008. Content that conforms
to WCAG 2.1 also conforms to WCAG 2.0. W3C intends that for policies requiring
conformance to WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1 can provide an alternate means of conformance.
ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG) Home
A great resource for many common web conponents and widgets. Very helpful site.
WCAG 2.x checklist from WebAIM, covers 2.0, 2.1, 2.2
WebAIM's latest checklist for accessibility, They do a great job of interpreting WCAG guidelines.
AAARdvark's' a plain language version of the WCAG guidelines.
This publication makes it easy to read and interpret the guidelines,
nice job AAArdvark.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 covers a wide range of recommendations for
making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content
accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and
low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations,
limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of these.
Following these guidelines will also often make your Web content more usable to users in general.
Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0
The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 provides information for designing web content authoring tools that help
authors write for end users with disabilities: design, code, enable, support, and promote the production of more accessible web content.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0
WCAG 1.0 is a reference document for accessibility principles and design ideas.
How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference)
An excellent quick reference to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements (success criteria) and techniques.
Section 508
508 Compliance Guidelines
Find an overview of testing methods and the tools to test websites, software, and
electronic documents for conformance with the Revised 508 Standards. You can also review
guidance on the Interagency Trusted Tester Program.
ITI (Information Technology Industry) website that contains VPAT download links
This page contains links to download the available VPAT versions. The 508 and WCAG versions are the most commonly used versions. You will need to
scroll down the page to find the links. These links are officially sponsored by the 508 Gov site.
ACR: Accessibility Conformance Report (vs. VPAT)
This page provides information and definitions for what is a VPAT and what is an ACR. This is very helpful information and it is recommended to
visit this site if you are new to VPATs and ACRs.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Part 84
Section 504 Final Rule Fact Sheet
This page defines the final rule of Section 504 of what accessibility means for websites and mobile applications and requires compliance with
specific technical standards, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA.
State Accessibility Guidelines
MNIT's Accessibility Policies & Standards
State Accessibility Exception Form
Accessibility Exceptions at the State of Minnesota, Part 1
Other Helpful Links
Digital Accessibility Starter Kit Excellent article on Accessibility
10 Easy Website Accessibility Quick Tips and Recommendations
A Starter Guide For Improving Digital Accessibility
Why You Should Avoid Tables for Web Page Layouts
Rethinking Tabs and Accordions - AXXS? This is an interesting read
on how modern HTML (5) is quite powerful by itself, with a little help from a friend, CSS.
Informative Video Links
How Technology can overcome Disabilities A nicely done video that demonstrates how modern technology can assist those with disabilities in ways we never thought possible.