Web Accessibility
See how your website stacks up compared to web accessibility legislation in Maryland.
In Maryland, there are several web accessibility guidelines that state government websites must adhere to in addition to following federal law. With regards to web site design, functionality, and content, there are a number of requirements that apply.
These requirements are as follows: the posting of an accessibility policy, employing best practices of universal usability, performing usability and color contrast testing, following the regulatory standards set forth by the Maryland Information Technology Nonvisual Access (MD IT NVA), and being W3C validated.
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Effective since March 1, 2005, the Maryland Information Technology Nonvisual Access Regulatory Standards consist of many of the federal regulations outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. It also includes a number of state-specific regulations that are not part of any federal law. The purpose of the regulations is to ‘‘ensure the nonvisual accessibility of State information technologies to citizens and State employees with disabilities’.’
These standards apply to all agencies and public higher education institutions in the executive branch of State government, with some exceptions, including for institutions that exist solely for academic or research purposes.
The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) requires text equivalents be provided for all non-text elements, including video, images, and other multimedia content.
In addition, all equivalent alternatives for multimedia are required to be synchronized with their corresponding presentations. Further, closed captioning must be included for all video presentations that include sound, and audio descriptions must accompany all visual media content.
Maryland’s accessibility laws apply to all agencies and public institutions of higher education in the Executive Branch of State government. Exceptions exist for public institutions of higher education solely for academic or research purposes, The Maryland Port Administration, The University System of Maryland, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Morgan State University.
If your website is found to be non-compliant with Maryland’s accessibility regulations, you can potentially face both lawsuits and fines. If your organization receives government funding, this may also be revoked in cases where non-compliance has been established.
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