ACCESSIBILITY POLICY

CAST is committed to ensuring that its sites are accessible to all users. If you encounter a problem accessing aim.cast.org or would like to provide feedback, please email aim [at] cast [dot] org.

These guidelines are based on federal requirements outlined in Section 508—the "Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards," authorized by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board—as well as recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Site Layout

This site has been designed with existing accessibility recommendations and standards in mind. To ensure complete accessibility to all users, this site uses a three-column, flexible approach with all global navigation exposed. High-contrast dark text on a light background is used for better readability.

Site Documents

Our HTML web pages are our most accessible versions of content posted to the AIM Center site. We often provide Word and PDF formats in addition for print use. While our Word and PDF versions contain accessibility features, users may find the site’s HTML pages most convenient for a variety of access methods.

Alternative Text Tags

All images on this site are accompanied by a brief alt text tag that identifies the image or its function. If you are using a graphic browser, alt text tags are visible only if the browser's automatic image loading feature is turned off. Long descriptions (LDs) are provided for images where appropriate. If you find an image that is missing alt text, please let us know at aim.cast.org.

Hyperlinks

Text hyperlinks are written so that they make sense when read out of context.

Tables

Some layout tables are used on this site. However, all content makes sense when the page is linearized. Where tables are used for the presentation of data, table cells are associated with headers to facilitate navigation with screen readers. Also, data tables do not stand alone but are accompanied by additional content that provides information about the table.

Skip Navigation Link

Each page on the site begins with a "skip navigation" link. Choosing this link moves the user directly to the main content of the page, bypassing the long list of navigational links which appears on every page. This permits faster and easier navigation for people using screen readers, or for anyone using a keyboard rather than a mouse to navigate the site.