Making materials accessible not only meets the law, it broadens the potential audience for your material! Some accessible formats, like print or audio alternatives, benefit everyone.
Though the physical world is the focus of most laws concerning accessibility, there are number of points that apply to publishing in print and electronic formats. It’s not just about providing alternative formats. And this goes beyond writing ALT text and closed captions, though these are key. Consider too: colour perception, organization for accessible communication (known as Plain Language), optimization for screen readers, and reading levels.
If you are aiming for the USA market, be sure to check those requirements too.
Editing content to make it accessible is required by the published standards and ethics of professional editing organizations around the world. Find a correlation to those standards at the end.
Resources to Help Editors Meet Accessibility Goals
Clear pring guidelines from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) as well as Clear Print Accessibility Guidelines PDF.
Guide to writing useful ALT text.
Sim Daltonism app — A colour perception simulator that works on anything you can point your phone camera at.
Review of screen readers (so you know what users get).
Accessible Canada — While most of this is about physical accommodations in the federal sector, the CAN-ASC-3.1:2025 – Plain Language concerns publishing.
Accessibility in Ontario — See especially Accessible websites.
“Testing for Visual Accessibility” — Practical tips!
Accessibility Laws
In alphabetical order, with notes.
ABC Act — Accessible BC Act
This 2-page PDF is helpful, though it focusses on physical structures: “A Plain Language Summary of the Accessible BC Act”
ACA — Accessible Canada Act
ADA — Americans with Disabilities Act (USA)
AODA — Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
See especially, “f. What Must I do When Communicating?” in section 6. Policies, Practices and Procedures, and section 11. Document Requirements.
ASC — Accessibility Standards Canada
CRPD — UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
CVTAA — Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (USA)
WCAG — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
See also, the perhaps more digestible, The structure of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) “Making the Web Accessible”
W3C (2024). “EPUB Accessibility 1.1: Conformance and Discoverability Requirements for EPUB publications”
Professional Editorial Standards Related Creating Accessible Products
Editors Canada [EC] A6.1 Consider the needs and accessibility requirements of the audience, optimizing language, presentation and readability.
EC A7.1 Understand the legal dimensions of editing, and identify and either resolve or flag possible legal issues (e.g., copyright infringement, plagiarism, defamation, obscenity, privacy violations). Know when to suggest seeking legal counsel.
EC A10.1 Ensure the intended readers can understand the language in the document.
EC A10.2 Be aware of any government or industry accessibility requirements for the kind of document you are working on.
EC A10.3 Know how to check that the document the audience will see is accessible (note that making it accessible is outside of your scope as an editor).
EC A10.4 Know the accessibility limitations of the software that is being used to prepare the document (e.g., the capability of built-in software to closed-caption video presentations).
EC A10.5 Be familiar with accessibility-related resources, such as the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for online content.
EC A10.6 Understand how to compose and edit alt text – a short written description of visual elements like illustrations and tables. As the task requires, rework the alt text to make multimedia and other non-textual elements more accessible to people who use screen readers or Braille devices.
EC E1.1 Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of various proofreading strategies (e.g., proofreading on screen or on paper, increasing screen magnification) and apply the appropriate strategy for the material and the scope of the project. This may also extend to accessibility requirements (see Part A: The Fundamentals of Editing).
EC E2.2 Ensure that each proof contains all the copy and any additional elements prepared for layout (e.g., visual and audio elements, alt text, captions, acknowledgements).
More to come from CIEP, ACES, and others.
