Des Moines Public Schools strives to make our online presence available and accessible to everyone in the diverse community we serve, from people with disabilities to families who may speak one of a hundred different languages and dialects in our district.

DMPS complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in ensuring people with disabilities have an opportunity equal to that of their non-disabled peers to participate in the District’s programs, benefits, and services, including those delivered through electronic and information technology. This means that DMPS will take actions to ensure that, to the maximum extent possible, individuals with disabilities receive the same benefits or services as their nondisabled peers.

To meet this end, DMPS works to provide online content and functionality which meets the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C’s) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA and the Web Accessibility Initiative Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.0 for web content. The only exception is that the  functionality for video content shall conform to W3C’s WCAG 2.0 Level A (collectively, the “Accessibility Standards”). The Accessibility Standards shall apply to current and new, newly-added, or modified online content, and may be subject to change with or without notice if they become obsolete.

Steps taken by DMPS to meet these standards include adding ‘alt text’ to images, avoiding the use of posting PDFs that are scanned documents, and making navigation of the web site keyboard accessible.

For more information, click here for the school district’s policy and click here for the school district’s procedures on web site accessibility.

If you have questions or need assistance on this topic please contact the school district’s Director of Communications at the address, phone number or email listed below.