Adoption of these guidelines by TGIC does not supersede any existing or future requirements of Texas Government Code Chapter §2054 (the Information Resources Management Act) or applicable provisions of TAC §206.50 and §213 with regard to agency accessibility compliance. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each agency to interpret and comply with all state and federal requirements for accessibility.
All new or modified geospatial related web services should comply with the requirements of Texas Administrative Code TAC §206.50 for State Web Sites within the capabilities of available commercial off the shelf (COTS) geospatial technology software.
Test and evaluate existing geospatial web services for accessibility with special attention paid to your agency’s most visible, popular, or important geospatial sites and services.
Splash/jump page
Each geospatial related website should provide a splash/jump page that is accessible to assistive technology. The splash/jump page should provide a list of contents and services with a text description and a listing of how geospatial services and data are delivered, broken down by format (i.e. txt, PDF, etc). The splash/jump page should also include an accessibility statement and contact information (see below for more detail).
Contact Information
Certain types of online applications, for example, web-mapping services cannot always be made fully accessible with currently available technologies. In such cases, information and services should still be made available via alternative, accessible mechanisms. These mechanisms may include different delivery procedures or formats, or provision of direct customer support. For any specific page displaying clearly inaccessible interfaces or information objects, ensure that staff contact information is provided including: address, email, telephone and hours available.
Accessibility Statement
Each GIS website should provide an accessibility statement. Provided below is a sample accessibility statement for geospatial related websites, although each agency may adopt an alternative statement that is tailored to its specific needs.
Agencies need to consider placement of the accessibility statement to ensure it is read. It may be necessary to have the statement posted in several places. The accessibility statement should also be placed so that users employing skip navigation (skipnav) functions in screen readers do not miss the accessibility statement and its contact information.
Recommended Accessibility Statement for Geospatial Web Services
Every effort to ensure compatibility within various Internet browsers has been made, however, this application may not function (or look) the same in all browsers. Ongoing efforts are underway to improve cross browser compatibility. Geospatial related maps and data in particular pose challenges to full accessibility due to the current design of software applications.
[Agency Name] is actively working to accommodate all citizens who visit our web-based applications. If you are unable to obtain information or data from this website please contact us during our normal office hours, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at (000) 000-0000, or 24 hours a day via our email address at ___________.
All standalone graphics, maps, and images that convey information should have a text title/description (Alt Tag) or (Long Description), or otherwise adequately describe the graphics within the context of the page.
