Illinois Information
Technology Accessibility Act

Accommodating People with Disabilities

• People with low vision or blindness
• People with limited use of their hands
• People who are deaf or hard of hearing
• People with learning disabilities

Compatibility with Assistive Technologies

• Large Fonts & High Contrast
• Screen Magnifiers (ZoomText, MAGic)
• Screen Readers (JAWS, Window-Eyes)
• Alternate Keyboard & Mouse Devices
• Speech Recognition (Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
• Reading Aids (BrowseAloud)

Your Users

• 10-20% of Americans have or will have a disability
• An aging population has increasing accessibility needs
• Accessibility and usability go hand-in-hand

The Law

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• State Lawsuit Immunity Act
• Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA)

The Lawsuits

• America Online
• IBM (Olympics.com)
• Priceline & Ramada.com
• State of Arkansas, State of Pennsylvania
• Target.com

State of Arkansas

• Injunction against using system until made accessible
• $19 million project → $52 million

Target.com

• Repairs
• Monitoring by the NFB
• Original plaintiff → $20,000
• Class-action fund → $6 million

Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act

• Public Act 095-0307
• Signed August 20, 2007
• Effective August 20, 2008

It is the policy of the State of Illinois
that information technology
developed, purchased, or provided by the State
is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Goals

• Improve accessibility
• Reduce liability
• Reduce cost

• IITAA Standards
• IITAA Procurement Recommendations
• www.dhs.state.il.us/iitaa

• Pass FAE without “Fail”
• Self-review using Web Accessibility Testing Checklist
• Submit to www.dhs.state.il.us/iitaa/certification

• Listing at www.dhs.state.il.us/iitaa/certification
• IITAA Logo (optional)