[WG: Accessibility] Feedback Requested: Draft Accessibility Statement for Sakai 3

[Eli Cochran]

Hello,
 
The Accessibility Working Group has been working on creating accessibility documentation for Sakai. A key piece of that documentation, and of demonstrating the Sakai Community's commitment to accessibility, is a Sakai Accessibility Statement. As part of our work to better understand what Sakai's accessibility goals should be, we have been writing an accessibility statement.
 
Below please find for your consideration the working group's Sakai Accessibility Statement draft as written for Sakai 3. The group's goal was to keep the statement from becoming too technical. We believe it presents clearly that we are striving to provide the greatest user experience for all and along with striving for compliance to the mentioned web accessibility standards.
 
<statement>
Consistent with the goal to make Sakai the most innovative and powerful Collaboration and Learning Environment, the Sakai community with the support and encouragement of Sakai Foundation will ensure that all of the features of Sakai 3 (the next generation of Sakai) are accessible and usable by the greatest number of potential users, including users with disabilities.
 
To ensure this high level of accessibility for the greatest number of users, our goal is to design Sakai 3 to meet or exceed the accessibility design principals found in recognized international standards. Our goal is to meet all of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG).
 
To ensure Sakai 3 has as few accessibility barriers as possible and to provide a rich and enjoyable user experience for all users, Sakai will be developed using emerging standards and best practice design techniques (such as the WAI-ARIA Suite), and support existing and emerging adaptive technologies.
 
Leveraging accessibility experts in the Sakai Community, all future development in Sakai 3 will undergo usability and accessibility evaluations throughout the design and development process to ensure that it meets these goals.
</statement>
 
Current accessibility documentation, contact information for reporting accessibility issues, and the methods and technical details used to achieve the accessibility goals are left to supporting documents.
 
We are excited to hear your feedback.

<credit where credit is due>
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Brian Richwine, the current lead for the Sakai Accessibility WG. This statement was a collaborative effort of the whole WG, but it was Brain's follow-through that made it happen. I'm only the messenger because Brian is now heads down on a Sakai 2.7 accessibility review.
</credit where credit is due > 
 
Sincerely,
Eli Cochran
ETS, UC Berkeley

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