Website Accessibility

Website Accessibility Policy

Purpose

Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website for training attendees, clients, resource partners, stakeholders, and members of the community with disabilities. All pages on the LSBDC website will conform to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative’s (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA conformance, or updated equivalents of these guidelines.

Scope

Entire College

Policy

The State Director is directed to establish procedures whereby training attendees, clients, resource partners, stakeholders and members of the public may present a complaint regarding a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

With regard to the LSBDC website and any official LSBDC web presence which is developed and maintained by the organization, LSBDC is committed to compliance with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 and Title II so that training attendees, clients, resource partners, stakeholders, and members of the public with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same benefits and services within the same timeframe as those without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use; and that they are not excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in any LSBDC programs, services, and activities delivered online.

All existing web content produced by LSBDC, and new, updated and existing web content will conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA conformance, or updated equivalents, by January 2020. This Regulation applies to all new, updated, and existing web pages, as well as all web content produced or updated by LSBDC.

Website Accessibility Concerns, Complaints and Grievances

A training attendee, client, resource partner, stakeholder or member of the public who wishes to submit a complaint or grievance regarding a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 or Title II related to the accessibility of any official LSBDC web presence that is developed by, maintained by, or offered through LSBDC, may make complaint directly to the Director of Marketing & Communications, Associate State Director or State Director. The initial complaint or grievance should be made using Website Accessibility Complaint/Request Form; however, a verbal complaint or grievance may be made. When the Director of Marketing & Communications, Associate State Director or State Director receives the information, they shall immediately inform the website compliance coordinator.

Whether or not a formal complaint or grievance is made, once LSBDC has been notified of inaccessible content, effective communication shall be provided as soon as possible to the reporting party to provide access to the information. The Complainant should not have to wait for the investigation of the complaint to be concluded before receiving the information that he/she was unsuccessful in accessing.

Complaints should be submitted in writing, via email, or by completing the website complaint form. To file a complaint or grievance regarding the inaccessibility of LSBDC’s public website content, the Complainant should submit the website feedback form.

The formal ADA non-compliance complaint should include the following:

  • Name  
  • Address
  • Date of the complaint  
  • Description of the problem encountered
  • Web address or location of the problem page
  • Solution desired
  • Contact information in case more details are needed (email and phone number)

The complaint or grievance will be investigated by the website compliance coordinator or another person designated by the State Director. The training attendee, client, resource partner, stakeholder or member of the public shall be contacted no later than five (5) working days following the date the website accessibility compliance coordinator receives the information. The procedures to be followed are:

  • An investigation of the complaint shall be completed within fifteen (15) working days. Extension of the timeline may only be approved by the State Director.
  • The investigator shall prepare a written report of the findings and conclusions within five (5) working days of the completion of the investigation.
  • The investigator shall contact the Complainant upon conclusion of the investigation to discuss the findings, conclusions and actions to be taken as a result of the investigation.
  • A record of each complaint and grievance made shall be maintained at the LSBDC’s State Office. The record shall include a copy of the complaint or grievance filed, report of findings from the investigation, and the disposition of the matter.
Submit A Complaint