I just received this from the Cultural Arts Access list serve and thought the network community might be interested in the information provided!
If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.
Nicole
FREE WEBINAR (Share with your cultural networks)2010 ADA Regulations and Online Ticketing WebinarFor additional information go to: www.adaconferences.org/Ticketing/<http://www.adaconferences.org/Ticketing/>To register go to: http://www.adaconferences.org/Ticketing/Register/The ADA National Network, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Knowbility and the International Ticketing Association announce a webinar program addressing the new ticketing regulations found in the 2010 revisions to the ADA regulations. The session is being coordinated by the Great Lakes ADA Center and Mid-Atlantic ADA Center (formerly DBTAC)DATE:February 25, 2011TIME:* Eastern: 2:00 - 4:00 pm* Central: 1:00 - 3:00 pm* Mountain: 12:00 - 2:00 pm* Pacific: 11:00 - 1:00 pm* Alaska: 10:00 - 12:00 pm* Hawaii: 9:00 - 11:00 amTopic:* The 2010 ADA Regulations and Online TicketingOn March 15, 2011 the U.S. Department of Justice's 2010 Revised Regulations on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) become enforceable. These regulations notably include provisions regarding the sale of accessible tickets, including providing people with disabilities with the opportunity to purchase tickets using the same methods available to patrons without disabilities. While you may have policies in place and staff trained to sell tickets over the phone and in person at the Box Office, are you ready to sell accessible seats on the Internet?Selling accessible tickets online impacts everything from your ticketing policies to your website. This FREE webinar will review the ticketing regulations with a particular emphasis on online sales, including a look at the process and accessibility features that should be built-in from the start. There will be plenty of time for Q&A so come prepared with your questions!Presenters:Betty Siegel, Manager of Accessibility, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DCBetty Siegel has specialized in arts and disability issues for over twenty five years. She started in the field at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, moved to Austin TX where she ran a small arts and disability non-profit, and was certified as a sign language interpreter. She is currently Director of Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. She oversees accessibility compliance, policies, and accommodations for all performances, programs, events, and facilities. She initiated and works on national and international projects such as the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) network of cultural arts administrators. Ms. Siegel holds a JD and is currently licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.Sharron Rush, Executive Director, Knowbility, Austin, TXSharron Rush is the co-founder and Executive Director of Knowbility, a nonprofit organization that grew from the first Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) in Austin in 1998. Ms. Rush leads the effort to replicate the AIR program in cities throughout the country. Ms. Rush believes strongly in the power of technology to support the independence of people with disabilities - and in the value of dynamic, ongoing collaboration to strengthen communities. She has led Knowbility to national recognition, including appearances on the Oprah Winfrey TV show, "Best Practice" feature at the National Labor Skills Summit, and recognition for excellence and innovation by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation. In April of 2001, she was named one of the Top 25 Women of the Web and in March 2002, she received the Dewey Winburne Award for Community Service through Interactive Media. She is a ComputerWorld Laureate, an advisor to the SXSW Interactive Media Conference, was named Community Tech C hampion by the Congressional Black Caucus and co-wrote the book, Maximum Accessibility which is recognized as one of the definitive accessibility resources. Ms. Rush annually assembles the best minds in web accessibility to deliver training conferences that teach and define interactive accessibility from the basics to the bleeding edge.Representative from US Department of Justice, Civil Rights DivisionContinuing Education Recognition (CER):* Certificate of AttendanceCost:* Free
Hi Nicole,
Yes, we at HTC got that notice a few weeks ago also. Several of us will be doing the webinar today.
I agree in theory with removing access barriers in online sales, but I wonder going forward what sort of challenges this will present for us all.
The first, and biggest challenge is that compliance is due March 15th, something our company didn't realize until very recently. I'm scrambling to find a way to retool our website to sell wheelchair spaces (which we currently only do over the phone or at the window) in time.
We're hoping that this webinar clarifies the compliance date, as there seems to be some confusion.
According to the official page here: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm it states: These final rules will take effect March 15, 2011. Compliance with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design is permitted as of September 15, 2010, but not required until March 15, 2012. If this is true, then we have more time to get this done. However, if we have to get this in place by 3/15/2011 then I think we're all in the scramble phase.
*grin*
Heather