Streamline Blog

Ensuring your PDFs are accessible isn’t just about checking a compliance box—it’s about making your content usable for everyone. Whether you're part of a government agency, school district, nonprofit, or public-facing organization, accessible documents are a key part of digital inclusion.

Ensuring your PDFs are accessible not only broadens your audience but also helps you meet legal and organizational compliance standards. Remediating a PDF means making it usable by assistive technologies (screen readers, voice recognition software, etc.) so that people with disabilities can access the same content. Below is a straightforward, step-by-step guide to help you remediate your PDF documents effectively.

Between federal ADA requirements, state open meetings acts, state-specific transparency laws, WCAG standards, and the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) ruling, special districts nationwide face growing pressure to make their websites more transparent, accessible, and legally compliant. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. But there’s good news: compliance is entirely achievable—and we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

The Department of Justice has issued new website accessibility guidelines that will significantly impact special districts nationwide. Here are the 5 biggest takeaways:

Many districts are not currently using a .gov domain, or they don't realize they can get one. However, we are starting to see more and more districts setting up their website with a .gov. Some states are even pushing for it, like AB 1637 in California, which could mandate the use of a .gov by districts. If history has shown us anything, it's that California often sets the tone for districts across the country. So if .gov domains become a requirement in California, other states could follow suit (note: a .gov domain is not currently required for districts in any state).

By the end of 2023, more than 10% of districts were affected by a website ADA claim. This rapid increase is startling, and we want to help you stay informed and prepared for any risks facing special districts.

As of January 1, 2022, governing bodies in Oregon are now required to make meetings accessible remotely and provide the opportunity for members of the public to remotely submit oral and written testimony.

Streamline has always stood for holding ourselves and our community accountable to good governance and transparency to the public. We don’t just help you build a website. We provide much-needed guidance on the laws and regulations that affect how you should (and in some cases, must!) communicate with your community and stakeholders online.

So, you’ve tested your site for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, and while you’re well on your way, you still have some areas of your site that aren’t quite up to modern standards. Perhaps some of those supporting board materials from third parties are wrecking your score and keeping you up at night, or your website developer is taking forever to fix those items identified in your last monthly scan…

Many states have begun adopting legislation requiring transparency, and this can feel like a chore to comply with, but there are a lot of benefits for Districts that embrace transparency.