North Carolina moves to make Information Technology accessible for disabled

North Carolina's government is moving ahead with efforts to make its computer
systems more available to disabled users. Secretary of Administration Katie
Dorsett learned that a state employee with a visual impairment was unable to
use a function of Netscape Navigator. Upon further investigation, she found
that several disabled employees had trouble working with North Carolina's IT.
The state Information Resource Management Commission commissioned a group to
study the state's IT systems and suggest changes. The commission's group said
better training is one step to improving accessibility. Another step is
evident on the state's new portal, North Carolina @ Your Service, which
employs the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Advocates for the disabled have expressed their support for these standards,
and the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
referred to them when proposing its own IT standards. Among other states, New
York has adopted a policy that mandates all agency Web sites provide
accessibility to disabled users. Maryland, California, Texas, and Connecticut
have made moves toward accessibility, but many states do not have laws
enforcing state Web site accessibility for the disabled. (Government Computer
News/State & Local, December 2000)