This week, we'll focus on the responsibility schools have to ensure the accessibility of spaces and information for their communities. Schools should consistently work towards improving accessibility for students, faculty, and staff, seeking routine feedback from their communities.
Accessibility is the degree to which products, services, environments, facilities, and information can be accessed, understood, and used by as many people as possible across the spectrum of ability, especially focusing on improving conditions and practices for those who live with disabilities.*
The more barriers schools can remove for students with disabilities, the more usable they will be for everyone - making for more confident, inclusive, and happy learning environments.
*In terms of the language surrounding disabled identity, scholarship is evolving regarding person-first (person living with a disability) versus identity-first (disabled person) language. It is not one-size-fits-all.
Maximize physical access, comfort, and inclusion.
Use classrooms, labs, and other workspaces that are accessible to individuals with a wide range of physical abilities. Allow room for wheelchairs and other mobility devices, including attending service animals or assistants.
Ensure that all students have a barrier-free line of sight to the teacher and visual materials.
Follow accessibility recommendations for the width of hallways, height of desks and other surfaces, bathroom design, and the installation of grab bars, ramps and lifts.
Ensure that playtime/recreational time is inclusive by ensuring the accessibility of spaces and activities.
Ensure that equipment, tools, and materials can be used by all.
Provide options for operation of equipment, handles, locks, cabinets, and drawers from different heights, with for those with different physical abilities, and by use of not only right + left hand but also assistive devices.
Clearly label tools and materials in large print, using both words and symbols when possible.
Minimize unnecessary physical effort.
Ask a person with a disability if that person needs help before providing assistance.
Address safety for all.
Identify potential issues for people with specific disabilities in emergency situations.
Ensure clarity and readability of emergency protocol signage and diagrams.
Identify potential impact of alarm sounds, auditory notifications, and lights for all students + employees.
Develop procedures for all potential students + staff, including those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, people who are blind, or those who use wheelchairs.
Consider readability.
Provide straightforward spoken and printed instructions. Use both symbols and words when possible. Label equipment, tools + educational aids in simple terms, in large sans-serif print, and in a location viewable from a variety of angles.
Ensure readability and clarity of signage, classroom text during instruction. Incorporate high-contrast color combinations and color schemes can be distinguished by people with color blindness. Design websites with accessibility standards in mind.
Format materials accessibly: for example, providing information in Word documents and braille, adapting diagrams to include written description + tactile forms, caption video or auditory content.
Select flexible curriculum and provide cognitive supports.
Choose or create well-organized, consistently formatted curriculum materials that are universally designed (addressing the needs of students with diverse abilities and learning preferences).
Offer outlines, summaries, graphic organizers that emphasize important points.
Use multiple modes of delivery for course content whenever possible.
Minimize Distractions
Consider the impact of lighting and sound for all learners in physical environments.
On course materials, use large sans serif fonts on uncluttered pages with simple backgrounds.
Put small groups in quiet work areas that allow as little auditory interference as possible.
Ensure availability of assistive devices and technologies.
Follow accessibility standards for providing assistive devices to meet accommodations, or allowing students to record lectures and lessons according to accommodation needs.
Enlist the help of apps such as speech-to-text transcribing programs or caption generators. Learn how to use communication devices and apps that let a student ask an iPad or other device to speak for them.
Offer outlines, summaries, graphic organizers that emphasize important points. Use multiple modes to deliver course content.
Seek feedback and do better.
Regularly assess your community's accessibility needs, using multiple accessible methods and tools. This includes students, faculty, and staff.
Engage in ongoing research about how to make your facilities and instruction more accessible.
Implement active listening and a growth mindset when receiving suggestions and requests.
Adjust instruction, spaces, information delivery, and practices accordingly. Be proactive and go beyond legal compliance to foster an inclusive community. Repeat!
SOURCES
https://www.washington.edu/doit/equal-access-universal-design-instruction
https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/disability-guide
https://www.section508.gov/blog/Universal-Design-What-is-it/
https://universaldesign.ie/What-is-Universal-Design/The-7-Principles/7-Principals-.pdf
https://teaching.pitt.edu/accessibility/accessibility-101/
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