DO-IT Director Named Leader of UW Implementation of IT Accessibility Policy

As a leader of accessibility and universal design in Washington State, as well as on a national and international level, I am excited to be named the leader for implementing a new Washington statewide policy regarding accessible IT. Policy #188 requires that state agencies, including state-funded postsecondary institutions like the University of Washington, take specific steps toward ensuring that IT procured, developed, or used by colleges and universities is accessible to students, faculty, staff, and online visitors with disabilities.

Policy 188 builds on what my units, Accessible Technology Services (ATS) and the IT Accessibility Task Force, have accomplished over the past couple decades. This policy will require colleges and universities to include accessibility planning in all websites, documents, videos, and software. To learn more about IT accessibility, read the UW guidelines, and find more resources for making your own products accessible, both internally and externally, visit the UW Accessibility website. DO-IT and programs within our unit have also hosted multiple capacity building institutes—full day meetings and working groups—on IT accessibility; proceedings from these events can be found on the DO-IT website under Accessible Technology.

Policy #188 will lead to more campus-wide efforts in reaching our accessible IT goals. To stay up to date on accessible practice, reach out to DO-IT or join the Accessible Information Technology Community of Practice by emailing doit@uw.edu.