(a) Effective April 18, 2020, unless an exception is
approved by the agency head or an exemption has been made for specific
technologies pursuant to §213.17 of this title, all new or changed
web pages must comply with:
(1) the standards referenced in US Section 508 Appendix
C Chapter 7 §702.10 (WCAG 2.0 Level AA excluding Guideline1.2
Time Based Media):
(A) Agencies shall consider the use of these standards
for new websites or web applications prior to the effective date;
or
(B) may continue to use US Section 508 standards published
in the Federal Register on December
21, 2000, subpart B §1194.22, paragraphs (a) through (p), excluding
paragraphs (b) and (k) prior to the effective date;
(2) the standards and specifications described in this
section; and
(3) the standards and specifications applicable to
a state agency's accessibility policy described in §213.21 of
this title.
(b) Based on a request for accommodation of a webcast
of a live/real time open meeting (Open Meetings Act, Texas Government
Code, Chapter 551) or training and informational video productions
which support the agency's mission, each state agency must consider
captioning and alternative forms of accommodation for videos posted
on state websites. Refer to §206.1 of this chapter for definitions
for Alternate Formats and Alternate Methods.
(c) When compliance cannot be accomplished for an EIR,
an alternative version of the page, form, application, document, or
other EIR with equivalent information or functionality, must be provided
to make a website comply with the provisions of this section. The
alternative version must remain synchronized to the primary EIR and
updated whenever the primary EIR changes.
(d) Effective September 1, 2006, unless an exception
is approved by the agency head or an exemption has been made for specific
technologies pursuant to §213.17 of this title, all new or changed
web page/site designs must be tested by the state agency using one
or more EIR accessibility validation tools, including but not limited
to the use of automated methods, manual methods or assistive technologies
to validate compliance with this chapter.
(e) A state agency must establish an accessibility
policy as described in §213.21 of this title which must include
criteria for monitoring its website for compliance with the standards
and specifications of this chapter.
(f) State websites and web applications should be designed
to support:
(1) variations in internet connection speeds and emerging
communications protocols and technologies; and
(2) the ability to adapt content to end user devices
such as mobile phone, tablets, or other devices which are available
to the general public.
(g) The department shall assist with establishing statewide
agency website accessibility compliance goals, and track agency progress
towards achieving those goals.
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