Advancement · School Operations

An accessibility policy
that says who does what

Choose what the policy covers and the standard, then write the commitments in your own words: how someone reports a barrier, who answers and how fast, what you ask of vendors and who is trained. The tool counts the coverage and the reply time, catches soft words like “strive” and “where possible”, a contact with no email or phone and a policy that leaves out documents or video, and prints the finished policy.

Add a policy draftWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the School operations toolkit, $49 for 66 items.

Policy drafts

The worked example is made up: a school district policy ready to adopt, a nonprofit draft full of soft words on the older standard, and a first outline. Saved on this device only.

Loading the policy form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · School Operations$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per policy draft: organization, scope, technical standard and effective date; commitment, how to ask for help, contact and reply time, buying and training; the responsible role, update cycle, last update and six checks. Coverage, word count and reply time; a printed policy with purpose, scope, standard, requests, buying, training and responsibility sections.
Who it is for
Superintendents, technology directors, communications staff, school and nonprofit leaders and the committees that draft accessibility policies.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per draft. Prints the policy, the record, every draft in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the School operations toolkit ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The School Operations space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose what the policy covers and the standard.
  2. Write the commitment in plain words.
  3. Say how to ask for help, who answers and how fast.
  4. Add buying, training and the responsible role.
  5. Fix the flags and print the policy.

Add a policy draft

What makes a policy usable

Six parts of a policy people can use1ScopeEvery kind of content, notonly the website2StandardWCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA,named exactly3A way to askOne contact that answers, anda reply time4BuyingAsk vendors for a conformancereport, then test5TrainingWho learns what, and how often6UpkeepOne role responsible, and adate to updateSix parts of a policy people can use1ScopeEvery kind of content, not only thewebsite2StandardWCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA, named exactly3A way to askOne contact that answers, and a replytime4BuyingAsk vendors for a conformance report,then test5TrainingWho learns what, and how often6UpkeepOne role responsible, and a date toupdate
A policy matters to a reader on the day something does not work, so the way to ask for help is the part to get exactly right.

The standard

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium are the usual technical standard: version 2.1 (2018) and version 2.2 (2023) at Level AA. In 2024 the U.S. Department of Justice adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for the web content and mobile apps of state and local governments under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which includes public schools; check with counsel which rules and dates apply to your organization.

Buying and fixing

Much of what students and families use is bought, not built. Ask vendors for an Accessibility Conformance Report, test the main tasks with a keyboard and a screen reader yourself, and write a commitment to fix barriers into the contract. For content already published, a dated plan that starts with the most used pages and forms is more honest than a promise that everything already works.

Sources

  1. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (2018) and 2.2 (2023) (w3.org/WAI).
  2. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Developing an Accessibility Policy and Developing an Accessibility Statement (w3.org/WAI).
  3. U.S. Department of Justice (2024). Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities, final rule (ada.gov).
  4. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Resources on the accessibility of online programs (ed.gov).

The worked example is made up, including the organizations and contacts. This tool helps you write a clear policy; it is not legal advice, and the rules and deadlines that apply depend on the kind of organization and where it is, so have counsel check the final text. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.