Public records are for every member of the public.
Brandeis targets WCAG 2.1 AA across the resident portals and staff surfaces. Accessibility is treated as part of the product's transparency mandate, not a compliance checkbox — and it is ongoing work, stated here honestly rather than certified prematurely.
What that means in the product.
Keyboard first
Every interactive element is reachable and operable by keyboard, with a visible focus indicator styled globally — not per component. Resident portals carry a skip-to-content link.
Motion is optional
Scroll animation runs only when your system says motion is fine (prefers-reduced-motion). With reduced motion set, every section simply is — nothing fades, slides, or waits.
Contrast, checked in the design system
The palette's text colors are tuned against WCAG contrast ratios per background — including the rule that decorative gold is ornament, never text on a light ground.
Illustrations that explain themselves
Decorative panels — the chat mockup, diagrams — carry full text alternatives describing what they show, so a screen reader gets the argument, not a shrug.
Print that stays legible
Letters, reports, and released records print on a light palette regardless of screen theme — no ink-slab pages, no white-on-white text.
No account required
Residents browse the archive, ask questions, file, and track requests without creating an account — the fewest possible barriers between a person and a public record.
Bring your own agent.
Every portal can speak MCP — so a resident who works best through their own AI agent (a screen-reader companion, a plain-language assistant, a translation agent) can search the archive, ask questions, and file requests through it. The agent sees exactly what the portal shows anyone: public records only.
Tell us. We'll fix it.
Report any accessibility issue to [email protected] — include the page and the assistive technology you were using, and we'll prioritize it. Requests for records in accessible formats go to the agency that holds them, through its own portal.