Accessibility Information for Partners

This page is for partners and consultants who provide documents to Dakota County. We are committed to providing access to all individuals — with or without disabilities — who wish to use our websites and documents.

Documents should meet current digital a​ccessibility standards pursuant to Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.  The consultant has ultimate responsibility for ensuring accessibility standards are met. Links that may offer helpful guidance on digital accessibility standards include:

• Web Con​tent A​ccessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (w3.org)
• Accessibility Training (section508.gov)
  
• Accessibility Requirements Tool (section508.gov)
  
• Minnesota IT Services: Office of Accessibility page

Basic accessibility expectations are below.

Word documents

A Word document meets standards if the document:

• Properties (title and author) are filled out.
• Uses styles properly, with the title as a Heading 1 and subsequent headings in order, so they create an accurate outline of the document.
• Does not have color contrast issues.
• Does not use text boxes.
• When adding a chart or graph into a report, provide a summary in the text directly before or after the image and be sure to include alternative text for the graphic. It is recommended you bring charts and graphs from Excel in as a graphic such as a .jpeg or .png. If you choose to keep your chart or graph connected to the Excel document, you should not add any alt text, until the document becomes a PDF. In the PDF, the chart or graph should be captured in one Figure tag, with only the one alt text needed.
• Passes the accessibility checker in Word, which checks that the document:
  

• Has alternative text to describe all images. Alt text should be limited to 150 characters or less.
• Has meaningful hyperlinked text that matches webpage titles.
  

For more information, see Microsoft: Make your Word documents accessible.

PDF documents

A PDF file meets standards if:

• It passes the accessibility checker in Adobe Acrobat (not in Acrobat Reader).
• The reading order is correct in the tag tree.
• The proper tags are marked for headings.
• All hyperlinks have been checked and are working properly.

For more information, see:
WebAIM: PDF Accessibility
Adobe: Create and verify PDF accessibility (Acrobat Pro)

PowerPoint files

A PowerPoint document meets standards if:

• The properties (title and author) are filled out.
• Uses styles properly, with the title as a Heading 1 and subsequent headings in order, so they create an accurate outline of the document.
• Content is presented in content placeholders, not text boxes.
• Content appears in the outline view panel (found under the View tab, Presentation Views pane, Outline View).
• The reading order is correct. The reading order is set in the Home tab, in the Drawing group. Select Arrange, and then choose Selection Pane. The Selection pane lists the objects on the slide in reverse order. Screen readers read the objects in the reverse order listed in the Selection pane.
• The document passes the accessibility checker in PowerPoint.
• A document that summarizes the presentation is much more useful than a PowerPoint presentation posted online. The document could have an image of the slide along with the speaker notes.

For more information, see Microsoft: Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible.