ADA Title II Compliance Remediation Report:
Eyes On The Bay

Date: April 23, 2026

Executive Summary:

We are pleased to report that the remediation of the Eyes On The Bay website is now complete. As of April 23, 2026, the site fully conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, achieving compliance one year ahead of the newly extended 2027 DOJ Title II deadline. This effort involved a comprehensive modernization of legacy code, a total overhaul of our data visualization tools, and the implementation of robust navigational structures to ensure an equitable experience for all users, particularly those utilizing assistive technologies. Furthermore, this remediation was executed in tandem with a series of critical security enhancements identified during a DoIT vulnerability audit of State of Maryland digital assets. By systematically addressing these dual technical requirements, we have established a robust platform that is both inherently secure and fully equitable for all users.

Key Technical Resolutions

1. Navigation and Keyboard Accessibility

To ensure users can navigate the site without a mouse, we implemented several global and page-specific fixes:

• Global "Skip to Main Content": Added a mechanism for keyboard users to bypass repetitive header elements.
• Focus Indicators: Integrated high visibility focus rings and restored global focus outlines to ensure users can clearly see which element is active.
• Menu Modernization: Overhauled main navigation and accordion menus with proper Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) states (aria-expanded, aria-controls), Escape-key support, and high-contrast indicators.
• Interactive Components: Swapped non-navigable accordion menus for accessible buttons and updated image links to be tab navigable.
• Menu Dismissal: Swapped navigation subheaders from <span> to <button> elements, allowing keyboard users to dismiss menus instantly using the 'Esc' key.
• Link Optimization: Standardized all telephone and email links for one-touch activation and eliminated "redundant tabbing" by merging decorative icons with their corresponding text links.
• Visual Interface Stability: Resolved "ghosting" and transparency issues in the navigation bar by re-engineering the CSS stacking context, ensuring solid, readable backgrounds for all dropdown elements.

2. Data Visualization and Map Remediation

Recognizing that interactive maps often present barriers, we created accessible text-based alternatives:

• Accessible Data Tables: Drafted and implemented equivalent HTML tables for all interactive map data.
• Prioritized Accessible Links: Strategically placed links to accessible tables before the interactive maps so screen reader users encounter them first.
• Dashboard Enhancements: Updated the striped bass Shiny dashboard to be fully keyboard-navigable and included a comprehensive table download for all data.
• Map Control: Applied aria-hidden="true" to complex map containers to prevent keyboard traps and/or added "skip map" links that appear on focus.
• Explicit Controls: Added a dedicated 'Submit' button to all map and table dropdown selections to ensure keyboard users can explicitly trigger data updates.
• Map Guidance: While keyboard access was removed from complex public-facing maps to prevent traps, we added instructional text to those pages to explain the available controls and alternative data routes.

3. Structural and Semantic Integrity

We systematically cleaned the site's underlying code to improve how it is read by assistive software:

• Heading Hierarchy: Restructured page outlines to follow a strict nested order (H1 through H6), providing a logical document outline.
• Legacy Code Removal: Replaced layout tables with responsive CSS Grid and Flexbox designs.
• ARIA Landmarks: Implemented role="main" landmarks and ARIA labels for search functions to announce the number of results to screen readers.
• Legacy Tech Removal: Fully excised inaccessible Adobe Flash components and manual "Right-Click to Save" instructions, replacing them with modern, cross-platform PDF access.
• Mobile Responsiveness: Integrated missing <meta name="viewport"> tags site-wide to ensure pages scale correctly on mobile devices and remain functional for users relying on screen magnification.

4. Forms and Search Tools

Interactive tools were modernized from the ground up for better usability and error recovery:

• Form Labeling: Tied explicit <label> tags to input IDs and added aria-describedby for instructional hints.
• Algae Bloom Reporting Form: Brought the multi-step reporting form into compliance using ARIA state tracking and programmatic focus routing for error recovery.
• Search Improvements: Added "Return to Search" links and swapped dynamic dropdowns for checkbox selections with ARIA labels on publication and citation pages.
• Backend Security: Secured exposed URL parameters in pop-up windows to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities while modernizing the interface.
• Large Data Performance: Implemented accessible client-side pagination for massive data queries (1,300+ rows) to prevent browser lock-ups and reduce navigation fatigue for screen reader users.
• Visual Decluttering: Used a .sr-only CSS class to hide repetitive "(opens in new window)" warnings from sighted users while maintaining that vital context for screen reader users.

5. PDF and Document Management

The new publications search and results tool was developed to address the significant challenge of bringing a vast library of legacy documents into ADA Title II compliance by the April 2026 deadline. Rather than simply leaving old files as-is, we reprogrammed the system to provide a clear, navigated path for users based on the accessibility status of each document. Because it is not always possible to remediate thousands of legacy files at once, the tool includes a "good faith" framework to ensure no user is denied information.

The core of the tool is a new sorting function integrated into the publication search and results pages. It dynamically filters publications into two distinct buckets, 'Remediated' vs 'Archived'.

• Remediated/Accessible PDFs: These are documents that have been systematically updated to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. This process involved adding backend structure tags, defining a logical reading order, and ensuring all images have descriptive alt-text.
• Archived Documents: This category is reserved for older content that is retained for historical research or recordkeeping. Under ADA Title II, these often fall under a specific "archived content exemption" if they are clearly identified and not in active use.
• Remediation Request System: The search result page now features an accessibility notification that allows users to directly request that a specific archived document be remediated into a compliant format.
• Compliance Notice: We implemented a "good faith" notice for our PDF backlog. It explains that while we are prioritizing current documents, we are committed to providing accessible versions of any archived materials upon request.
• Coordination with Colleagues: We worked with MANTA colleagues who host content on the Eyes on the Bay site to receive remediated PDFs for their web site sections well before the deadline.

6. Quality Assurance & Compliance Tools

To ensure every technical update met the rigorous requirements of ADA Title II and WCAG 2.1 Level AA, we utilized a multi-layered verification strategy:

• WAVE Evaluation Tool: We audited all historic HTML publications and site pages using WAVE, maintaining a strict quality threshold of zero errors and accessibility scores above 95% for all pages.
• Formal Audit: We requested a full ADA accessibility audit of the Eyes On The Bay website from DoIT. We systematically addressed the specific findings from our accessibility audit, remediating all issues found. We plan to request a second audit to ensure all fixes are compliant.
• Gemini AI Code Scans: We leveraged Gemini to perform code scans of legacy files, which accelerated the identification of deprecated HTML and assisted in drafting precise ARIA attributes for our complex data tables.
• Manual & Visual Testing: We performed manual keyboard-only walkthroughs to verify the elimination of keyboard traps and used contrast checkers to ensure all UI elements met the required 4.5:1 contrast ratio.