Other News

February 2014 — The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Protocols and Formats Working Group published proposed recommendations regarding Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA).  The document outlines “ways to make web content, particularly web applications, more accessible to people with disabilities.” Complementing the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, the proposed recommendations provide developers with guidelines to ensure that dynamic content or interfaces developed with Ajax, HTML or JavaScript, are accessible for people with disabilities and operabl

Today, AT&T Foundation announced a $50,000 contribution to Shepherd Center to assist researchers in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies (Wireless RERC) in launching a series of seminars to help consumers with disabilities uncover the range of accessibility features found on their mobile devices. Seminars are scheduled for five cities – Atlanta, Ga., Austin and Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Ill., and Washington, D.C. – throughout this spring and summer. 

January 2014 — The Kessler Foundation announced that they are currently accepting applications for Signature Employment Grants. The annual grants are awarded to organizations “to fund new pilot initiatives, demonstration projects or social ventures that lead to the generation of new ideas to solve the high unemployment and underemployment of individuals with disabilities.” Applicants may apply for up to two years of funding ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 per year.  The deadline to apply is February 7, 2014.

January 2014 — The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed suit against the Department of Transportation (DOT) challenging regulations issued under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) meant to “require that airline check-in kiosks be made accessible to airline passengers who are blind.”  The NFB asserts that the regulations, which require 25 percent of airport kiosks to be accessible by 2023, fail to implement the ACAA as Congress intended and that currently kiosks can easily be made accessible   by “affixing Braille labels, installing headphone jacks and adding speech software that prov

December 2013 — NARRTC (formerly known as the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers) has issued a call for papers for their upcoming 2014 Annual Conference in Alexandria, Virginia. The theme of this year’s conference is “The Way Forward: Informing Policy with Evidence.”  Those interested may submit a proposal for a 60 minute Symposium session or a 15 minute Research Paper presentation.