Accessibility at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC)
SBCTC Accessibility Statement
In accordance with federal law and state policy, SBCTC is committed to providing access to its programs and services for people with disabilities, including students, employees, and the general public. This includes information and communication technologies (ICT), and content of this website.
In March 2016, SBCTC approved the Accessible Technology Policy: Vision, Mission, Policy Statement and Recommendations for Adoption. This policy outlines our system’s commitment to provide equal, effective, and meaningful access to web content for individuals with disabilities.
To meet this commitment, we aim to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Conformance Level AA. Our agency strives to follow requirements set forth by WaTech’s Accessibility Policy Number USER-01, formally known as OCIO Policy 188. The technical standard is USER-01-01-S.
Get Accessibility Help
If you experience an issue that impacts your ability to access SBCTC web and digital content, please report the problem using the options below.
Send a message to molsson@sbctc.edu and it will be sent to the correct team member who can address your needs. You will receive an email response confirming receipt of your message and information about next steps.
Complete the Report Digital Access Barrier form located on this page.
If you experience a physical barrier at the 1500 Jefferson Building, or in the SBCTC offices, please send a detailed email to facilities@sbctc.edu. Our facilities team may need to contact the Building Manager for assistance depending on the issue. You will receive an email response confirming receipt of your message and information about next steps.
Do you need accessibility support with a specific SBCTC web or mobile software application? We are here to help.
If you have accessibility challenges with ctcLink or HCX (the mobile version), please let us know by submitting a ticket or sending an email to csoran@sbctc.edu. Include what page you were on, what task you were trying to do, what problem or error happened, and which assistive technology you are using, if any. We want to make sure you have an accessibility-friendly experience with ctcLink.
Employees
If you want to keep up with the latest ctcLink accessibility news, you are invited to the monthly ctcLink accessibility forum. You can also check out the accessibility image overview documents that give the details of all the accessibility updates that come with each ctcLink upgrade.
Students
Please email csoran@sbctc.edu if you have any accessibility issues with ctcLink. We are here to help!
If you need any accessibility support with LegacyLink or Legacy Transcripts, submit a ticket with the details of the issue.
New DOJ Ruling: ADA Title II Background
In Spring 2024, the Department of Justice passed a landmark ruling updating its rules and regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) The ruling includes requirements for web and mobile accessibility and aims to ensure that all people with disabilities have full and equal access to public entities services, programs, and activities available on mobile apps and websites.
Key Components of the Rule
Public entities shall ensure that web content and mobile apps made available directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, are readily accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Public entities shall comply with the technical standard set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA for web content and mobile apps. Public entities are required to adhere to these standards for all web and mobile content available to the public or used in services, programs, and activities. This technical standard is in alignment with the current WaTech minimum accessibility standards for Washington state and USER-01 Digital Accessibility policy.
Web Content: The information and sensory experience communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or markup that defines the content’s structure, presentation, and interaction. Examples of web content include text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, form fields, and conventional electronic documents.
Conventional Electronic Documents: Web content or content in mobile apps that is in the following electronic file formats: Portable document formats (“PDF”), word processor file formats, presentation file formats, and spreadsheet file formats.
Mobile applications: Software applications downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
In limited situations, some kinds of web and mobile app content may not have to meet the technical standard. The DOJ fact sheet offers more detail about each of these exceptions. It is important to carefully review each definition and consider if a particular asset qualifies for an exemption or not:
- Archived web content: Content not currently used or altered since being archived by a public entity, and kept only for reference, research, or record-keeping purposes.
- Pre-existing conventional electronic documents: Documents available on a website or mobile app before the date of compliance.
- Third-party content: Content posted by third parties, unless the third party is posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity.
- Individualized password-protected documents: Password-protected or otherwise secured documents about a specific person, property, or account.
- Preexisting social media posts: Social media posts made before the date of compliance.
Public entities with populations of 50,000 or more persons must comply with the federal regulations by April 24, 2026. All community and technical colleges, including SBCTC, fall under the Apr 24, 2026 deadline.
Preparing for the Rule
Monica Olsson, Policy Associate and Accessible IT Coordinator for SBCTC, is delivering presentations and webinars to CTC commissions and councils to help stakeholders understand the new ruling, its requirements and standards. Previous presentations from fall 2025 and winter 2025 include:
- WACTC-Tech (Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges President’s Technology Subcommittee)
- SBCTC State Board Meeting
- STAC (Strategic Technology Advisory Committee)
- WSSSC (Washington State Student Services Commission)
- IC (Instruction Commission)
- PIC - Public Information Commission
- ITC - Information Technology Commission
- HRMC - Human Resources Management Commission
- eLearning Council
- Library Leadership Council
- Disability Support Services Council
The SBCTC Accessibility team and Project Management Office have partnered to provide colleges support in meeting the compliance requirements. All colleges are required to identify an Accessible IT Coordinator advised to create a campus-wide Web Accessibility Work Group. Refer to the DOJ Ruling Issue Brief linked below in the Resources section.
To jumpstart these efforts, SBCTC hosted an Introduction and Overview to the DOJ Ruling webinar in January 2025. In February the agency hosted a Q and A session with WebAIM. Further guidance, resources, and training opportunities will be announced to the colleges and their designated Accessible IT Coordinators.
Additionally, the State Board created its own Web Accessibility Task Force. This team will provide guidance and training to the agency in order to meet the updated Title II regulations. These efforts will rely on collaboration across all divisions, departments, and will include critical review and improvements to Accessible IT policies and procedures.
Accessible IT Coordinator Contact List
Every CTC college has named an Accessible IT Coordinator for their institution in accordance with WaTech's Digital Accessibility User-01 Policy requirements.
Contact list and College Policies
