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Web Services

ADA Compliance: Guidance on Web Accessibility

Website accessibility is essential to meet every person's needs for accessing and navigating LAUSD websites. Everyone is responsible for meeting the legal requirements and guidelines as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more about how to make your website accessible, please utilize the following resources below.

Examples of website accessibility...

Mobility

Visual

Audio

Other

See below for a list of websites / tools you can use to check for ADA compliance...

Siteimprove

Siteimprove is an easy-to-use website accessibility scanning tool.
Direct links to their Chrome browser extension and their Firefox browser extension.

Wave

WAVE can identify accessibility and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors, and also facilitates human evaluation of web content.
Direct links to their Chrome browser extension and their Firefox browser extension.

Axe

A fast, lightweight, yet powerful testing tool developed by Deque. It's features include Auditor, DevTools, Monitor, and a free Accessibility Browser Extension.
Direct links to their Chrome browser extension and their Firefox browser extension.

Screen Reader Tools For Testing

A screen reader is an essential assistive technology that converts on-screen digital text, images, and interface elements into synthesized speech or refreshable braille. Primarily used by blind or visually impaired individuals, it enables them to independently navigate websites, applications, and operating systems

The following are some screen readers that can be downloaded/installed to verify your site is screen reader compliant:

JAWS a prominent, proprietary screen reader that enables blind and low-vision users to navigate Windows PCs

NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) allows blind and vision impaired people to access and interact with the Windows operating system and many third party applications.

Accessibility Examples

Alt Text

DO	DON'T
Describe the purpose in 5–15 words — what message does this image convey?	Don't start with "Image of…" or "Photo of…" — screen readers already say this
Set alt text to blank (alt="") for purely decorative images so screen readers skip them	Don't write 1–2 vague words like "design" or "border" for decorative images
For linked images, describe where the link goes	Don't reuse the same alt text across multiple images
Include any text shown in a graphic (flyers, banners, event images) in the alt text	Don't assume browser tools will catch burnt-in text — always review manually
Write a one-sentence summary as alt text for videos	Don't leave video alt text blank

Examples

DO Example	DON'T Example
Alt text: "A badge reading 'LAUSD Teacher of the Year' on a certificate.	Alt text: "image1" or "photo"

DO Example

DON'T Example

Alt text: "A badge reading 'LAUSD Teacher of the Year' on a certificate.

Screenshot of Edlio's Insert/Edit Image modal showing a completed alt text field

Alt text: "image1" or "photo"

A screenshot of an image editing interface with fields for source and alt text.

Burnt-In Text Alert

Text that appears inside a graphic (flyers, banners, event images) MUST be written out in the alt text. Browser tools cannot detect this — it must always be reviewed manually

Burnt-In Text Examples

DO Example	DON'T Example
A flyer image with alt text that reads: "Back to School Night, Sept 10, 6pm" — all visible text from the flyer is included	A flyer image with alt text left blank or just labeled "flyer"

DO Example

DON'T Example

A flyer image with alt text that reads: "Back to School Night, Sept 10, 6pm" — all visible text from the flyer is included

Popup for editing an image with source and alt text input fields.

A flyer image with alt text left blank or just labeled "flyer"

Popup for editing an image with a simple alt text input field.

PDFs

DO	DON'T
Build content as a native Page Block whenever possible	Don't upload untagged or scanned PDFs — screen readers can't read them
Add a written summary on the page, then link a tagged PDF	Don't assume Edlio's Accessibility Report will catch PDF errors — it can't scan PDFs
Put PDF content in a collapsible block as a fallback option	Don't link a PDF without any on-page context or summary

Examples

DO Example	DON'T Example
A page with the full lunch menu typed out as text, with a tagged PDF linked below for download	A scanned image of the lunch menu uploaded as a PDF with no page summary

DO Example

DON'T Example

A page with the full lunch menu typed out as text, with a tagged PDF linked below for download

Screenshot of Edlio Page, describing the lunch menu of the week for May 11th-15th,2026

A scanned image of the lunch menu uploaded as a PDF with no page summary

Weekly lunch menu for Maplewood Elementary School with daily meal options.

Check a PDF: pave-pdf.org

Links

DO	DON'T
Use descriptive link text: "Download the Student Handbook"	Avoid phrases like "Click here" or "See this" — screen readers read links out of context

Examples

DO Example	DON'T Example
Use descriptive link text Visit LAUSD Website	Avoid phrases like "Click here" or "See this document" Learn more about this document

DO Example

DON'T Example

Use descriptive link text

Visit LAUSD Website

Avoid phrases like "Click here" or "See this document"

Learn more about this document

Headings

DO	DON'T
Use H1 → H2 headings in order to structure every page	Avoid skipping heading levels or using bold text instead of real headings

Edlio Tools

Tool	What It Does	How To Use It
Accessibility Report	Scans your pages for WCAG AA errors — alt text, contrast, heading structure	Run it regularly from your dashboard; issues are sorted by severity
Video Captions	Auto-generates closed captions for every video uploaded via Edlio	Confirm the language on upload; allow up to 1 hour to generate

Quick Wins — Start Here

#	Action	How
1	Audit your homepage images	Check every image in Shuffles for alt text — especially flyers and banners with burnt-in text
2	Fix your link text	Search your pages for "click here" and replace with descriptive phrases
3	Run the Accessibility Report	Start with your 5 most-visited pages — fix issues by severity
4	Replace your most-used PDFs	Convert to Page Blocks so screen readers can access the content
5	Enable captions on all videos	Confirm language on upload — captions generate within 1 hour
6	Do a keyboard test	Tab through your site — every link, button, and form must be reachable without a mouse