Accessibility

• Course Review Accessibility Statement
• Accessibility Guidelines
• Accessibility Checklists
• TxVSN Rubric
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Provider & Receiver Responsibility for Accessibility
• Accessibility WIKI
• TxVSN Accessibility Video (transcript)

TxVSN Course Review Accessibility Statement:

iNational Standards of Quality for Online Courses, criteria#10 under the Technology standards section, which states, "The course must meet universal design principles, Section 508 standards and W3C guidelines to ensure access for all students. "TxVSN Course Review will apply these guidelines in determining whether a provider has met its obligation under iNACOL's.

TxVSN Provider District that follow these guidelines will be regarded as having met accessibility obligations. Current TxVSN Provider Districts’ courses that do not meet these guidelines by January 30, 2012 will be considered non-compliant with TxVSN Course Review standards and may be removed from the TxVSN statewide course catalog. Upon further review, related to non-compliance, the TxVSN Provider District may be subject to additional consequences. Beginning January 30, 2012 all courses, including courses submitted by new TxVSN provider applicants and existing TxVSN Provider Districts, must meet all TxVSN Accessibility Guidelines prior to approval for the TxVSN course catalog.

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TxVSN Accessibility Guidelines:

The Guidelines

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TxVSN Accessibility Checklists:

The checklists are to be used as a tool to check a course for accessibility. The intent of these documents is to allow Provider Districts the opportunity for a peer team to review a course for accessibility. The checklists cover most of the types of documents that may be contained in an online course. They do not address content outside the Learning Management's system such as websites and resources that are not created by the Provider District. It becomes the responsibility of the Provider District to ensure websites and resources not created by the Provider District follow the accessibility guidelines or provide an alternate means of instruction. The checklists below will not be used by Course Review to conduct random audits. However, elements from the checklists will be incorporated into Course Review's Accessibility Rubric, which will be used to conduct accessibility audits.

• Common Attributes

• Course Navigation

• Word Processing

• Presentations

• Spreadsheets

• PDF Documents

• PDF Forms

• Multimedia

• Resources

• 508-WCAG 2.0 Correlation Chart - Correlation chart aligns individual checklist elements with the 508 Standards and WCAG Guidelines.

• Course Review's Accessibility Rubric is currently in development
  
  

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TxVSN Accessibility Rubric

To The Texas Virtual School Network Accessibility Rubric - Must have an account set up prior to full access to rubric.

Free Accessibility Checking Tools

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Frequently Asked Questions about the TxVSN Accessibility Guidelines:

FAQ

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TxVSN Responsibility Chart:

The Texas Virtual School Network entertains four main groups:

• Learning Management systems

• Content Developers

• Provider Districts

• Receiver Districts

These groups can be one-in-the same, or they can be independent of each other. Whatever the relationship, each has a distinct role to play with regards to accessible online learning. Below are each group role and its responsibility towards providing accessible content:

Groups	Responsibilities
Learning Management Systems	Each learning management system has an accessibility statement LMS's are adhering to accessibility standards; some are further ahead than others. Check with the LMS for their specific accessibility guidelines LMS's allow for content to be added to the management system by developers and this content added may be inaccessible LMS's are not responsible for added content being accessible
Content Developers	Content Developers need to read and understand a Learning Management System's accessibility guidelines prior to adding content to the system Any document, presentation, spreadsheet, pdf document, or multimedia developed or used in the course must follow accessibility guidelines Course navigation, discussion boards, interactive components and interactive assessments must provide an alternative means for navigation or responding If a concern is raised, while a course is in progress, every attempt must be made in a timely fashion to address the accessibility concern
Provider Districts	Hold content developers accountable for accessible content. Depending on the role a Provider District plays, this may also include yourself if you are developing your own content. Review courses regularly for accessibility. Instructors may have the liberty of adding or revising course content. If this is the case, checking the course regularly for accessibility will avoid issues later. Once informed of a student's unique needs, contact the student's mentor or guardian for clarification
Receiver Districts	Carefully screen candidates for success in an online environment using SmarterMeasure© Determine, before course enrollment, if the course is the best educational solution for a student with specific learning needs Communicate with Provider District and course instructor, prior to the start of instruction, regarding a student's unique needs Provide necessary assistive technology tools to student until completion of the online course

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TxVSN Accessibility Wiki:

The TxVSN Accessibility Wiki contains additional resources that will assist curriculum teams in the development of accessible course content. Please click on the Accessibility Wiki Link to access these resources. If you are unable to access this link, please copy and paste http://txvsn-cr-accessibility.wikispaces.com/ into the address bar.

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