If you are new to the world of web accessibility, there is a lot to learn. It is easy to get overwhelmed. We've compiled the below list of terms to help you navigate the legalese that surrounds the web accessibility movement.




 Accessibility Legal Glossary

ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an extensive and sweeping law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the U.S.A.  The ADA applies to schools, the workforce, and public or private organizations serving the public.

ADA Title III
Title III of the ADA is the main spark behind the web accessibility movement. Specifically, is states that places of "public accommodation" can't discriminate.  Now that technology is so ingrained in our lives, websites are considered spaces of "public accommodation." If your customers go to your website to browse your content, business information, or specials, your website is considered a place of "public accommodation."

The Department of Justice also takes a very clear position that Title III applies to websites being spaces of "public accommodation."

CVAA
The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) is an update to older legislation to ensure that digital, mobile and modern technologies are taken into account when gauging a business's accessibility requirement.

The Rehab Act, Sections 504 and 508
The Rehabilitation Act prevents discrimination against people with disabilities by federal agencies or agencies that receive federal funding.

Section 504:  This section requires that the federal government and any programs, departments, organizations, or businesses that receive federal funding be fully accessible.

Section 508: This section establishes specific accessibility standards for the many forms of information and communication technologies that are used by employees and the general public. Basically, it says that any information privately or publicly available by a federally funded agency needs to be fully accessible. You can read more about section 508 here.
 

WCAG 2.0
The Web Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) was not created by the ADA, but is often pointed to by the DOJ as being the most up-to-date guidelines on how to reach full accessibility compliance for a website.

WCAG is written and managed by W3C.

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative manages WCAG 2.0.
Florida HB 727, 

also known as

The Accessibility of Places of Public Accommodation Act (APPAA) 		Florida House Bill 727 went into effect July 1, 2017. The intent of this new law in Florida was to protect private sector businesses from lawsuits claiming alleged barriers to access via the business's website. According to the plaintiffs, the lawsuits are designed to improve website accessibility by getting businesses to remove barriers.  However, these lawsuits mostly appear to be driven by the purpose of gaining attorney fees provided by the ADA. Disabled persons who file the lawsuit are unable to collect monetary compensation.

The law states that businesses in Florida need to hire a "qualified expert," in addition to submitting a remediation plan with the state that indicates that their website plans to conform to Title III of the ADA within 10-years time.

To be clear, no Florida business is required to hire an expert or volunteer a remediation plan. HOWEVER, if you neglect to conform and are served in court, you will likely: lose the lawsuit, pay the attorney fees, and then have to develop a remediation plan. Adot Pro is your "Get Out of Jail Free" card, but you need to have it before you are served in court in order to avoid a costly lawsuit.





Common Web Terms Related to Web Accessibility

Alternative Text, OR
Alt-text, OR
Alt-tags
This text is used to describe images on your website.  When a screen-reader passes over a photo it will read the text out loud to the web-user. Alt-text is usually less than 125 characters. 

Assistive Technologies
Sofware that maintains, or improves the capabilities of users when interacting with a computer.

Captions

  
A visual representation of both speech sounds and sounds beyond speech, like background noise. 

Screen Readers
A software program used to navigate the content of a computer screen using speech. This software is sometimes used by people with visual impairments. 

Transcript
A text version of audio or video. Generally, it includes speech sounds only and is not a recommended substitute for video captions.