Laws and Policies
Laws and Legislation Overview
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 1990
鈥溙齠or persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, [and] public accommodations....鈥� As a state university, an employer, and a resource to the community, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is bound by the ADA. The ADA extends to and includes the technologies used by the campus.
For more about ADA compliance 91传媒, please contact听.
Accommodations: Section 504, amended 2008
听requires CSUN to provide 鈥渁ccommodations鈥� 鈥撎�� to students with disabilities.听 The goal of these accommodations is to provide access to information and activities that are equally effective to that enjoyed by other students.听听听based on his or her request and the information the student provides.听
Examples of accommodations include:
- Note-takers;
- ASL interpreters;
- Braille copies of materials; or
- Software that provides assistance.
At CSUN, contact听Disability Resources and Educational Services听(DRES)听to听request accommodations for students. 听
Accessibility:听 Section 508, revised 2017
Accommodations are important but don鈥檛 solve every potential barrier.听听听requires CSUN to go further and make our information and communication technologies accessible to everyone.听
Students and members of the CSUN community do not have to request accessible features such as:
- Websites and electronic documents that conform to technical standards and guidelines; or
- Captioned videos.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Final Standards and Guidelines
The听听published the updated Section 508 on January 18, 2017, as the听. 听The revised standards and guidelines take a functionality or performance-based approach (鈥渨hat it听does鈥�) instead of the former product-based (鈥渨hat it听is鈥�).听 Electronic documents were covered by the previous standard, but are explicitly addressed in the refresh. 听The revised standards and guidelines include cognitive and learning disabilities and limited strength, and add a requirement that, if a function or disability is not covered elsewhere, it is covered by the 鈥淔unctional Performance Criteria.鈥� The revised standards and guidelines also require that technology on campus interoperate with assistive technology: the accommodations from Section 504.
The ICT Final Standards and Guidelines align Section 508 with the听.听 WCAG 2.0 is the internationally accepted standard for accessible websites.
The ICT Final Standards and Guidelines also incorporate Section 255, covering telecommunications equipment, content, and services.
21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), 2010
The听听addresses communication technology and videos.听 It requires communication services and devices to be accessible to people with disabilities.听 It requires videos available through the Internet as well as television to be captioned, and it requires devices used to access videos to support captions.
State of California
In 2003, the State of California enacted听Government Code听(GC) Section 11135, requiring all of its agencies and departments to comply with federal Section 508.
Policies and Guidelines
California State University (CSU) Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI)
The听听sets the system-wide standards and outlines how the campuses should approach these laws and standards. Read more about how CSU Northridge complies on our听ATI听page.