Sakai’s Review Accessibility (RA11y) Plan: Fully Funded & At Work on Phase 1

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The RA11Y Plan (Review Accessibility Plan - accessibility drops 11 words, and looks like a pair of letter l’s, to make “rally”) is an initiative by the Sakai Accessibility Working Group to commission a substantive review of Sakai’s accessibility by a respected third-party with a goal of obtaining a certification, including a VPAT and WCAG2-based review, that would assure potential adopters and current users alike.

The plan itself is outlined here https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/2ACC/rA11y+Plan.

The Sakai Accessibility Working Group would like to thank the organizations that pledged $61,000 and 60 hours of in-kind development. Thanks to: Apereo, Durham Tech University, Tufts University, Oxford University, Pepperdine University, Longsight, and Brock University.

Everyone involved in creating Sakai and other Apreo projects wants our projects to have a positive impact on all who encounter them.  Sakai has a good history of accessibility but resources are limited and new developments in Sakai need to be reviewed and brought up to standard. The rA11y plan address the Sakai project’s need to transition from a project with deep resources around accessibility testing within it to seeking out commercial support with community funds to support the work.  These ebbs and flows of resources are typical of many long-term projects.

Members of the Sakai Accessibility Working Group are currently selecting a respected third party to review of Sakai 11’s accessibility.  After the group is selected and completes a report based on sample content and configurations of Sakai, the work on other requirements associated with report will be brought to the community for remediation and review. Through commissioning work and asking for volunteers to work on areas of interest, Sakai can work towards not only being a being a more accessible LMS, but also one that can make that claim with certainty.

To learn more about this initiative please check-out the rA11y plan web site at  https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/2ACC/rA11y+Plan, join the Sakai Accessibility Working Group bi-weekly call (detals at https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/2ACC/Sakai+Accessibility+Wor... ) or follow the Sakai Development mailing list.
-- Matt Clare and The Sakai Accessibility Working Group