Advanced Accessibility Topics

1. PDF Tagging & Remediation: why PDFs fail and how to fix them
2. Spreadsheet Accessibility: structure, labels, and color independence
3. Captioning & Transcripts: producing usable captions, not just turning them on
4. Alt Text Decision Framework: matching description to image type
5. Meeting Accessibility: Title II obligations across all meeting formats
6. Cognitive & Neurodivergent Design: choices that help people process and follow content

• Tags are the hidden structure that makes a PDF perceivable for assistive technology
• An untagged PDF has no headings, no reading order, and no table or list structure a screen reader can use
• A scanned PDF is an image: no real text, no selection, no screen reader output at all
• Most PDFs in daily school use are missing tags entirely

Diagnose quickly:

• Try to highlight a sentence. If nothing selects, the file is scanned or image-only
• In Acrobat, open the Tags panel (View > Show/Hide > Side Panels > Tags). No tags tree means remediation is needed

Fix at the source first:

• Add headings, alt text, and table structure in the original Word or Google Docs file, then re-export
• Only patch the PDF directly in Acrobat when no source file exists

• Freeze and mark header rows so screen readers know what each column means
  • Excel: View > Freeze Panes; Google Sheets: View > Freeze
  • One header row per sheet; do not use merged cells inside the data range
• Name sheet tabs descriptively — "Q2 Enrollment" not "Sheet3"
• Add alt text to every embedded chart: describe the trend or finding, not just "bar chart"
• Never use color as the only way to communicate a value
  • Pair conditional formatting with a text label or icon so meaning survives without color

A screen reader reads a spreadsheet like a table. If the structure is not there, the data is not there.

Auto-generated captions are a starting draft, not a finished product:

• Always review before publishing: names, local terms, acronyms, and homophones fail most often
• Add speaker labels when more than one person is speaking
• Add sound description where meaning depends on non-speech audio

Caption file formats:

• SRT (SubRip): most widely supported; required by many older platforms
• VTT (WebVTT): web-native, preferred for HTML5 and modern platforms; use VTT when either is accepted

Transcripts serve a different need than captions:

• Identify speakers by name, break by topic or speaker turn, include timestamps every 1-2 minutes
• Post the transcript alongside the video, not instead of captions

Every image falls into one of four categories:

• Decorative: no information content; use alt="" so screen readers skip it entirely
• Informative: conveys needed content; write a concise description of what the image communicates
• Functional: acts as a button or link; describe the action, not the appearance
• Complex: charts, graphs, infographics, diagrams; needs a short alt text plus a full long description

Decision questions for any image:

1. Would removing this image lose information? No → decorative
2. Does clicking or activating it do something? Yes → describe the action
3. Can the full meaning fit in one short sentence? Yes → that is the alt text
4. Does it show data, relationships, or steps a sentence cannot capture? Yes → it is complex

The goal of alt text is not to describe what the image looks like. It is to deliver the same information.

Staff meetings, School Committee sessions, and public forums all carry Title II obligations:

Before the meeting:

• Send materials in advance with enough lead time to prepare, not the same day
• Distribute only accessible formats: tagged Word or PDF, never a scanned image
• Include accommodation request information on every invitation

During the meeting:

• Turn on live captions by default for virtual and hybrid calls
• Test audio and camera framing before the meeting begins

After the meeting:

• Published recordings need accurate captions, not auto-generated drafts left unreviewed
• Minutes and supporting documents follow the same rules as all other accessible content

Cognitive accessibility helps people with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and situational stress:

Typography and layout:

• Use a clear sans-serif font; left-align body text; avoid long blocks of italics or all-caps
• Increase line spacing slightly and keep line length moderate
• Reduce visual clutter: fewer decorative borders, backgrounds, and flourishes

Structure and language:

• Chunk content into short, labeled sections with one idea per sentence
• Use plain language as the default; put optional detail after the essential content
• State what happens next at the start of multi-step content

Predictability:

• Keep layout and labeling consistent across pages and documents
• Use the same term for the same thing throughout
• Avoid auto-playing motion, video, or audio

Cognitive accessibility does not require extra work. It requires different habits.