TAC County Information Resource Agency (CIRA)

There are certain steps you may take to help people with disabilities access your website’s information.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) does not have a regulation that outlines detailed standards for complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Thus, counties can exercise some flexibility in how they ensure website accessibility. The Department of Justice recommends that counties refer to available resources like those listed below. 

While some counties rely on CIRA to make website updates on their behalf, CIRA is only able to complete website editing requests exactly as they are received and counties are ultimately responsible for the level of accessibility of content published to their websites.

Please find below some valuable tips and resources to increase your county website’s accessibility to all Texans. Consult with your county attorney on whether any additional accommodations need to be made to ensure your website is compliant with any statutory provisions.

• Review the Guidance on Website Accessibility and the ADA guide from the U.S. Department of Justice for examples of accessibility features, an overview of resources for web developers and a voluntary action plan for accessible websites. 
• The DOJ also recommends relying on existing technical standards like the Section 508 Standards and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for guidance on making website accessibility enhancements. 
• Consider posting a website accessibility statement to your website to indicate your county’s commitment to accessibility and to provide contact information for the public to request information in another format if they are unable to interpret the version posted to your website. View an example of an accessibility statement. 
• Provide information linked in PDF documents on your site in a text-based format such as HTML, RTF or Word (.doc or .docx) in the place of, or in addition to, PDF files. Assistive technology cannot always interpret the information within PDF files.
• Ensure your county website has a webpage dedicated to elections and voting information that includes all the required information, such as polling locations and addresses. Review the Texas Elections Code for more information on requirements. 

If you're a TAC CIRA website customer who needs assistance making accessibility improvements for your website, contact us at support@county.org or (800) 456-5974.