A11y Equitas
A11y Equitas = accessibility as equity. It is an open AI assistant for US government agencies and nonprofits, built for WCAG 2.2 AAA compliance under the DOJ Title II rule. It gives practical guidance so neurodivergent users (ADHD, dyslexia, attention/memory differences) — and everyone else — can actually use the services public agencies and their vendors deliver.
Every page on this site is automatically tested by Playwright + axe-core + Alfa before deploy. The markup is designed and tested toward WCAG 2.2 AAA. The site is built with Next.js, one of the most popular React frameworks.
What the model does (AAA goals)
- Distinguishes the legally enforceable WCAG 2.2 AA baseline from aspirational 2.2 AAA. It cites each success criterion by number and level.
- Navigates DOJ Title II (28 CFR Part 35) and U.S. state mandates. Examples: Washington WaTech Policy USER-01 (formerly OCIO Policy 188), Oregon ADA Title II program (Oregon EIS / ODOT), California AB 434, and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
- Writes runnable Playwright + @axe-core/playwright + Alfa test specs and Python scripts that turn results into accessible reports.
- Guides human-in-the-loop manual testing with Microsoft Accessibility Insights for Web (FastPass vs Assessment).
- Explains the human impact of each requirement — including for neurodivergent users.
- Covers Section 508 and the Rehabilitation Act for federal agencies and their contractors. This includes the ICT refresh (36 CFR Part 1194).
- Generates correct ARIA authoring patterns for complex widgets. Examples: menus, dialogs, tabs, accordions, carousels, live regions, and custom form controls.
- Verifies color contrast ratios and recommends WCAG-compliant palette adjustments. It also explains which token changes fix a violation without breaking brand identity.
- Produces accessible form markup — labels, error messages, grouping, autocomplete, and timeout warnings. These satisfy SC 1.3.5, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, and 3.3.7.
- Assists with PDF and document accessibility. This covers tagging order, reading sequence, alt text for figures, and remediation steps for exported Office and print-to-PDF files.
- Drafts and reviews VPAT / ACR language (WCAG 2.x and Section 508 editions). It uses honest conformance levels and known-gap disclosures.
- Applies plain language and readability guidance (SC 3.1.5, Flesch–Kincaid Grade 8 target) to draft and simplify public-facing content.
How-to guides
Each guide explains a specific accessibility topic. Guides include live examples, code patterns, and plain-language explanations for neurodivergent users and screen reader users.
- Accessible PDFs— PDF/UA + WCAG 2.2 AA, the DOJ stance on “separate but equal,” and when HTML is the right answer.
- Accessible tables — captions, scope, headers, and responsive design for data tables that work with every screen reader.
- Accessible charts and maps — live Chart.js bar and doughnut charts with data tables, and an OpenStreetMap showing neurodivergent population density across WA, OR, and CA.
- Accessible images — alt text patterns for every image type, SVG best practices, and the WCAG AAA image requirements.
- Accessible videos — captions, audio descriptions, transcripts, and accessible player controls for WCAG 2.2 AAA compliance.
- Accessible tech stack — why Next.js, Tailwind, Playwright, and Alfa work together for WCAG compliance at every layer.
