The information below is intended for web authors and contributors to the www.aacps.org website or any other public AACPS-authored pages.  

The Basics

• Consider the reader:  Can you reasonably read and understand the information contained on your page(s)?
• Color Contrast:  Images and text should have proper contrast.  Many colors that seem like they are readable sometimes do not have enough contrast. Use the tool on this page to check for color contrast 
• Website content should be based on simple text or HTML
• Avoid the use of animation (animated gifs in particular), advanced technologies such as Flash, dynamic and popup/under menus, and excessive Javascript. 
• Whenever possible, use the accessibility features in PDF files that make them accessible (add Tags)
• Images and Animations: Use the alt text attribute to describe any visual. Use descriptive text.
• If images contain text, the text should be spelled out in alt text or long desc. Text should not be blurred for effect in images containing text.
• Multimedia: Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video. All video content should be placed on the AACPS Official YouTube Channel and linked to. (captioning is provided automatically by YouTube)
• Hypertext links: Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "Click here" and "Read more"
• Page Organization: Always include a page heading.  Use consistent structure. 
• Graphs and Charts: Summarize or use the longdesc attribute. 
• Do not underline text that is not linked to a website or document.  Always sse BOLD for emphasis. Avoid italics - it is harder to read.
• Scripts, applets, & plug-ins: Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported. 
• Tables: Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize. 
• See additional information here about accessibility/Web Standards

For Content Contributors:  View some additional information on how to improve your site accessibility