Accessibility Training for Web-Based Content

This page lists the web and digital accessibility training resources that can help you learn more about how to make CDOT websites and documents accessible. This page also describes how to access these resources.

Contents include:

Accessibility Overview

House Bill 21-1110 (HB21-1110) makes it a state civil rights violation for a government agency to exclude people with disabilities from receiving services or benefits due to lack of accessibility. It is essential for the State of Colorado to provide accessible digital products for our internal employees, as well as the broader Colorado public. In support of this, CDOT updated Procedural Directive 31.1, Website Development and Web Accessibility, to reflect these new requirements. In order to ensure equal access to information for all people, all State of Colorado websites should be compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) on or before July 1, 2024.

Web Accessibility Training

Effective January 2023, CDOT web managers and site owners are required to take these courses per PD 31.1 in order to be granted access to manage CDOT websites. To begin this process, please submit a training request using the CDOT Web & Digital Request form.

Note: If you are a current web editor, this training was previously provided in Siteimprove Frontier. You are not required to take this Web Accessibility Training again; you have credit in SOC Learns for these courses as of July 1, 2023. 

Digital Accessibility Fundamentals E-Learning

CDOT hosts this Office of Information Technology (OIT) e-learning in the SOC Learns Training Portal. This course provides an overview of digital accessibility fundamentals. You will learn what digital accessibility is, types of disabilities and assistive technologies, accessibility standards and regulations, and best practices for creating content for the State’s websites and other products.

Access this OIT course in the SOC Learns Training Portal:

Web Accessibility Fundamentals E-Learning

CDOT hosts this OIT e-learning in the SOC Learns Training Portal. This course is a guide for creating accessible website content to comply with state and federal accessibility laws. It is for state employees working in website content and development including content editors, content managers, development managers, developers, and communications and marketing staff. 

Access this OIT course in the SOC Learns Training Portal:

ADDITIONAL Accessibility Training

OIT Level Access Academy Training

The OIT Technology Accessibility Program team has made available 15 accessibility training courses through a separate learning management system called the Level Access  Academy. Access Academy courses are specific in topic, and include: Microsoft documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Adobe, web content, design, development and testing. Here is the full Access Academy ourse catalog.

A limited number of seats are available and seating is first-come, first-served. The majority of your job responsibilities must correspond to course catalog topics. To sign up, complete this form:

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Additional Document Accessibility Resources

The Communications team offers several accessibility resources and how-to documents, such as content creation tips and Google, Microsoft Office and website best practices, and a step-by-step checklist to follow for remediating PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. Access this information on the Employee Hub's Web Editor page:

PDF Accessibility Software Tools

Adobe Acrobat DC Pro Software

This software includes the Accessibility Checker tool to remediate outstanding accessibility issues. It works in tandem with CommonLook. It is available to all CDOT employees as needed. Visit the Office of Information Technology page to submit a Service Desk ticket to have this software installed on your state device.

CommonLook Software

This plug-in software for Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint helps you make documents accessible and remediate accessibility issues. It requires Adobe Acrobat and/or Microsoft Word or PowerPoint to complete the installation. It is only available for PCs. Here are instructions to request limited software from OIT. 

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