Accessibility in Contractual Language
Federal and state agencies follow rules and regulations requiring the use of accessible IT products and services.
- All federal agencies must comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).
- This includes Part 39 - Acquisition of Information Technology.
- Digital accessibility compliance is in Subpart 39.2 - Information and Communication Technology.
- The US General Services Administration (GSA) provides sample language to use when defining accessibility criteria in contracts.
- State agencies follow their own regulations or adopt the federal regulations. Texas agencies and institutions of higher education (IHE) must comply with Texas Administrative Code (TAC).
- Chapter 206 includes State Websites or websites built by third parties for use by state agencies.
- Chapter 213 includes all other IT products and services (e.g., web applications, mobile apps, software, hardware).
- Minimum technical accessibility standards point to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and US Section 508.
TAC §213.38 states:
(c) An institution of higher education shall implement a procurement accessibility policy, and supporting business processes and contract terms, for making procurement decisions. The institution of higher education shall monitor the procurement processes and contracts for accessibility compliance.
IT Addendum
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi provides several initial options for including an accessibility clause in a contract. Option 1: State of Texas is included in the IT Addendum that is given to all IT and IT-related service providers.
Procurement and contract review process
Digital accessibility is part of the procurement and contract review process at institutions of higher education. This includes requesting accessibility conformance reports (ACRs) from service providers.
Below is a sampling of IHE procedures that include IT accessibility review. Note this is not a comprehensive list. Many institutions have a policy to focus their websites on marketing to prospective students. That means their internal procedures are located on intranets not available to the public.
- California State University San Marcus (CSUSM): CSUSM Procurement 101 [PDF]
- Folksom Lake College - Los Rios Community College District (FLC-LosRios): FLC-LosRios ICT Procurement Guidelines
- Harvard University: Harvard Accessible Technology Procurement (see Accessibility Rider)
- Michigan Technological University (MTU): MTU Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Procurement Procedures
- Portland State University (PSU): PSU Special Contract Terms and Conditions: Accessibility [PDF]
- Princeton University: Princeton IT Procurement Accessibility Guidelines
- Salt Lake Community College (SLCC): SLCC Information Technology (IT) Accessibility Guidelines - Procuring Accessible Technology
- San Francisco State University (SFSU): SFSU Technology Acquisition Review
- South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC): SPSCC Accessibility Technology Procurement Procedures
- Texas A&M University (TAMU): TAMU Procurement Tips
- The Ohio State University (OSU): OSU Purchasing Questions and Contract Language - Digital Accessibility Center
- The State University of New York (SUNY): SUNY Procurement Accessibility Conformance Standards: Implementation Guidance [PDF]
- The University of Arizona: Arizona - Procurement Language - Accessibility
- The University of Chicago (UChicago): UChicago Procurement - Center for Digital Accessibility
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC): UNC Accessibility Standards for Procurement of Digital Content and Materials
- Temple University: Temple A guide to accessible purchasing
- Tufts University: Tufts Procurement Guidelines for Accessibility
- Union College: Non-Standard Union College Contracts [PDF]
- University of California San Francisco (UCSF): University of California Systemwide Legal Documents & Policies
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Illinois Procurement - IT Accessibility
- University of Nebraska System: Nebraska Contracts Inclusive Technology
- University of Nevada - Reno (UNR): UNR ICT Procurement Process
- University of Oregon (UO): UO Standard Contract Terms
- University of Washington (UW): UW Accessibility Rider [PDF]
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison): UW-Madison Accessibility Language for IT RFPs and Purchasing Contracts
- Washington State University (WSU): Access at WSU - Contracts and Purchasing
References
VPAT/ACR Tools
- U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) OpenACR Editor
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) tool
Federal and International Guidelines
- Guide to Disability Rights Laws
- Under U.S. Section 508, federal agencies and entities receiving federal funding follow: Worldwide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0, Level AA conformance (WCAG 2.0 AA)
- WCAG 2.1 Adoption in Europe (W3C)
State Rules and Guidelines
- Technical Accessibility Standards
- Software Applications and Operating Systems (TAC §213.30) (includes websites and web applications)
- Websites (TAC §206.70)
- Telecommunications Products (TAC §213.31)
- Video and Multimedia Products (TAC §213.32) (includes those products hosted on websites and web applications)
- Hardware (TAC §213.33) (includes desktop and portable computers)
- Standards for all Electronic and Information Resources (EIR)
- Procurement Review Process