Letter to State Agency Commissioners

Dear Agency Commissioner

On July 10, 2000, the tenth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Department of Information Technology (DOIT) and the ConneCT Management Advisory Committee announced an initiative to improve the accessibility of the state web site (http://www.state.ct.us) to people with disabilities, including more than 100,000 state residents with visual impairments.

Under the initiative, state agencies having a presence on the state’s website, ConneCT, will incorporate the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0, which are among the most stringent accessibility standards available today. Under the initiative, web site content must adhere to these new standards and existing content upgraded by January 1, 2002.

DOIT has scheduled and is funding training for the state’s more than 100 agency webmasters in these standards. I would like to request that you ensure that your agency webmaster registers and receives this training, to be held on eleven different dates in November.

The ConneCT web site was established in 1996 and receives more than 4.1 million visits per year. As the state lays the groundwork for statewide e-government, we must work to ensure that people with disabilities have access to this important resource.

I appreciate your cooperation. The attached information sheet and brochure provides registration information.

Please do not hesitate to contact me personally with any questions.

Sincerely,

Rock Regan

Chief Information Officer