The Foundation is committed to inclusivity of all, offering accommodations for individuals with vision, hearing, and speech impairments,  photosensitivity, limited movement, and learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD, and processing differences. Materials designed to be accessible for all users are part of the organization’s commitment to inclusion and diversity.

For materials that will be used on a desktop or mobile device, the Foundation aims to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standards. WCAG standards are organized by a framework of four principles, that content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

There are a few general principles that will improve the accessibility of any document or webpage and help when read by text to speech tools or other assistive technologies:

• Use the paragraph styles for headers and subheaders. A well-organized document makes it easy for all users to tab through and understand. 
• Use descriptive alternative text for images and charts. Include titles for charts and label columns. Provide captions for images. On websites, include alt tags and aria labels for all images and labels for all form fields.
• Caption videos. (and making playing captions a default).
• Use high-contrast colors. WebAIM is a tool that tests the contrast ratio of colors.
• Make links descriptive. Avoid “click here” and instead describe what a person would find when they click the link, for example, “learn more” or “apply now.”

Additionally, the Foundation:

• Uses authentic images that reflect a variety of perspectives and the diversity of Californians. 
• Creates materials and conducts outreach in languages other than English.
• Makes written materials designed for a broad audience available as audio and or video and as plain spoken as possible to better serve English language learners and those with learning disabilities.

For self-paced courses in creating accessible Word documents, PDFs, and PowerPoints, please use these free courses in accessibility created by the California Community Colleges Accessibility Center. If you need to procure online tools or check and improve the accessibility of materials, please work with the Communications team.

• Foundation Guiding Principles and Mission
• Vision for Success
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Associated Press Stylebook (Username: communications@foundationccc.org Password: Foundation*ccc)
• Foundation Accessibility Guide