A newly-created chief information technology accessibility officer Gov. Maura Healey announced Wednesday will be tasked with making the state’s digital applications more accessible and “fully functional” for all residents.
The position, established through an executive order Healey was expected to sign, will oversee the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board, a panel of state experts tasked with strengthening and advancing digital accessibility in government operations.
Healey said the board and the chief information technology accessibility officer will work with “secretariat IT accessibility officers,” new state employees placed in each of the executive departments. Metrics tracking the board’s progress will be displayed on a “public-facing” dashboard, Healey said.
“The establishment of the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board represents our commitment to supporting individuals with disabilities and making government more accessible and equitable for all,” Healey said in a prepared statement, which also marked Disability Pride Month and the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Healey was scheduled to provide more details about the board and the chief information accessibility officer at a 10:30 a.m. press conference inside the State House. A copy of the executive order was not immediately available early Wednesday morning.
Technology Services and Security Secretary Jason Snyder said many people interact with state government services online.
“Everyone has unique challenges, perspectives, and life experiences that affect how they interact with state services online,” Snyder said in a statement. “When we build digital services for people with different needs, we build better for everyone.”
Members of the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board also include secretaries of executive officers, Healey’s deputy chief of staff for access and opportunity, the executive director of the Massachusetts Office on Disability, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the commissioner of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
Members of the public “with expertise or lived experience with digital accessibility issues” will also sit on the board, Healey said.
“The issue of IT Accessibility has been critically important and vital to many people within state government for over 30 years and as I always say, ‘you cannot go backwards in life,’ but I am ecstatic that we are taking this important issue forward,” said Massachusetts Office on Disability Executive Director Mary Mahon McCauley.