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      Introduction to ADA at SchoolNow

      Web accessibility is the practice of removing barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to websites, for all people. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, all users have equal access to information and functionality.

      SchoolNow CMS is used around the country and even internationally, serving a diverse audience that relies on the Internet and access to key web sites. It is our goal to provide equal access and opportunity to all users of SchoolNow websites, including those with disabilities. Accessible websites and design improve the overall experience for everyone.

      Understanding Conformance and the levels

      Conformance to a standard means that you meet or satisfy the 'requirements' of the standard. In WCAG 2.0 the 'requirements' are the Success Criteria. To conform to WCAG 2.0, you need to satisfy the Success Criteria, that is, there is no content which violates the Success Criteria. Most standards only have one level of conformance. In order to accommodate different situations that may require or allow greater levels of accessibility than others, WCAG 2.0 has three levels of conformance, and therefore, three levels of Success Criteria.


      Conformance Level: One of the following levels of conformance is met in full.

      • Level A: For Level A conformance (the minimum level of conformance), the Web page satisfies all the Level A Success Criteria, or a conforming alternate version is provided.

      • Level AA: For Level AA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A and Level AA Success Criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided.

      • Level AAA: For Level AAA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A, Level AA and Level AAA Success Criteria, or a Level AAA conforming alternate version is provided.


      NOTE: It is not recommended that Level AAA conformance be required as a general policy for entire sites because it is not possible to satisfy all Level AAA Success Criteria for some content. This is important to keep in mind as you consider the content that is on your website. Read more detail on how conformance is graded here on the W3C website. 


      SchoolNow CMS implements the standards set forth in Section 508 Guidelines and the more recently updated WCAG 2.0 Technical Guidelines not only in the proper areas of the platform, but also during the content migration process where we help customers set up their new website. Further, we offer in web pages on a monthly and quarterly basis.


      At SchoolNow, we group ADA accessibility issues into three key areas

      • Platform level - Issues we can fix at the platform level and are available to all of our customers. Examples include skip navigation function, keyboard navigation, site search labeling, footer requirements, etc.

      • Website theme - Issues related to the website theme governing your website. An ADA compliant theme is provided to all of our customers. Examples include correcting redundant links, color contrast issues, ALT attributes applied to images not accessible by the user, etc.

      • User-generated content - Content generated by you is called user-generated content. You will be responsible for governing this content and we will provide both written documentation and videos instruction to train you and your publishers how to find and fix common accessibility violations. This includes PDF files, online forms, video transcriptions, and closed-captioning, and how to maintain proper semantics in the editable area of your pages.

      Limitations do apply and ADA specifications are being reviewed and revised ongoing. If you discover an ADA violation on your website, and you do not know how to fix it, or you believe you are not empowered to fix it, submit a ticket to our support desk. We will address such violations by collecting your feedback, reviewing with our team, and determine if there is a fix or feature that is needed in the platform. Rest assured SchoolNow is committed to helping your organization achieve the best compliance for your website.  


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      Achieve better compliance with commonly-used elements

      It is the goal of SchoolNow to meet or exceed the WCAG 2.0 AA standard for Website Accessibility. The following information on this page covers the most commonly used elements on a web page. This content is most often added at the publisher-level, meaning SchoolNow has no way to enforce these practices. Rather, it is the responsibility of the user to handle them.


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