Accessibility best practices

Photo: Lamondre Pugh (L) chatting with presenters Jamie Katz Court (C) and S.A. Corrin (R) at the 2024 LEAD conference.

As a state agency, the N.C. Arts Council follows state and federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title II of the ADA, passed in 1990, requires state and local governments to ensure equal access to their programs, services, and activities by people with disabilities.

We sat down with two Arts Council staff members—Jamie Katz Court, accessibility coordinator, and Ai-Ling Chang, graphic and website manager—to talk about what accessibility means to our agency.

Jamie, as the accessibility coordinator for the North Carolina Arts Council, how do you define “accessibility” in terms of your work?

Jamie: For me, accessibility is about designing spaces and programs in which people with disabilities are and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. A universally accessible program is one that a person with a disability not only can attend, but also enjoy the same high-quality experience as other participants. My focus is on both the use of best practices with a goal of universal access and the legal requirements and standards set out by the Americans with Disabilities Act that apply to our grantees. This means a few different things in the scope of my role as the Arts Council’s accessibility coordinator:

• I’m often the first point of contact for organizations we work with that have questions about accessibility. I provide resources and guidance to help them ensure that their programs and venues are as accessible as possible.
• Within the agency, I’m the go-to person for others on our staff to consult about how well our policies and practices make our own programs and processes as accessible as possible.
• This is my second year leading our Accessibility Learning Community. This year, we provided grants to allow representatives from nine arts organizations from across our state to attend the Kennedy Center’s Leadership Exchange in Arts & Disabilities (LEAD) conference, which took place earlier this month.

Can you give us some examples of “accessibility” or access issues? 

Jamie: One of the first accessibility issues people think about is, can someone get into our venue and go to their seat if they have mobility constraints or use mobility devices (wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes)?

There’s a lot more to accessibility, though, from allergies and chronic conditions to sensory sensitivities and cognitive differences. The bottom line should always be customer service: providing the best experience for someone who wants to engage with a program or organization.

Here are some other accessibility considerations or access issues: 

• For people who are blind or have low vision, accommodations can range from large print or Braille materials, audio description (a specific type of narration that provides information about the key visual elements in a performance or presentation), sighted guides, tactile displays, and more.
• For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, common accommodations are assistive listening devices, using a microphone or public address system during conference sessions or meetings, American Sign Language (ASL), open caption boards, and more.
• For people who have sensory considerations, “sensory friendly” or “relaxed performance” programming has become popular, which often means lower volume, less drastic lighting changes, and allowing audience members the freedom to move around during the performance. Some organizations also provide sensory kits with items like noise cancelling headphones, fidget spinners, and other items to help people feel comfortable in a space.
• “Know before you go” guides, also referred to as social stories or social narratives, help people know what to expect when coming to an event in a space that’s new to them. This is a great example of an accommodation intended for a specific audience that also can benefit the broader public!
• About service animals, you need to know what questions you can ask. There are only two: Is the service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?

Ai-Ling, earlier this year, an update to the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law that requires increased web accessibility standards. Can you help us understand what “web accessibility” is? 

Ai-Ling: The rule introduced earlier this year specifically outlines web accessibility requirements for state and local governments. However, good web accessibility practices benefit everyone, by ensuring that all users, including those with disabilities, can access the same information and perform the same tasks on websites and mobile applications without encountering unnecessary barriers. By following these guidelines, we can create an inclusive digital environment where everyone has equal access to information and services.

Here are some practices that make websites more accessible:

• Adding text descriptions (alt text) to images: Provide text descriptions for images or informational graphics posted on a site page. People who are blind or have low vision may use a screen reader to deliver the text content on a screen via speech, but a screen reader cannot "read" nontext elements like images and graphics unless there are alt text descriptions associated with them. Including alt text can also play a role in search engine optimization, boosting the likelihood that your images will appear in relevant search results.
• Providing captions and transcripts: Offer captions and transcripts for video or audio content so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can access the content. Captions and transcripts are also very helpful in noisy environments or for non-native speakers.
• Making text more legible: Use a larger font size and a screen-friendly font for text on a website or web app. Make sure there’s adequate color contrast between text on the page and the background, paying special attention to areas where text overlays images. This practice can be helpful for folks with color blindness or low vision, including those who have some level of vision loss due to aging.

These are only some of the many things one can do to increase the accessibility and usability of a website. And web accessibility guidelines continue to evolve as web technology improves and changes, so it’s important to always be mindful.

Why is that important for an agency like the North Carolina Arts Council?

Ai-Ling: We have a legal responsibility as a state agency to make our content and website accessible to the public. Beyond that, accessible practices are often also beneficial to those without specific disabilities and access needs. For example, making sure that text content on a site is large and legible helps those with low vision but can also make reading a webpage on a small mobile screen a much more pleasant experience for everyone.

Tell us what has been most memorable about your involvement with the N.C. Arts Council’s LEAD scholarship program.

Ai-Ling: Everyone in the LEAD cohort group is eager to learn more about accessibility, and it’s always really impressive how quickly they are able to turn what they learn into actionable steps and practices for their own organization and for their local arts community.