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Accessibility & Inclusion

Holon Gardens is committed to building a website, a steward portal, and programs that as many people as possible can use — whether the barrier they navigate is permanent, temporary, or situational. We treat accessibility as part of our mission, not as a compliance afterthought.

Our commitment — and the limits we acknowledge

We acknowledge honestly that we don't know what every person who uses this site needs. Disability, neurodivergence, and literacy are lived experiences, and the people who hold them are the experts on what works. We take responsibility for making our work better when we hear that it has fallen short.

If anything on this site, in the steward portal, or in any of our programs was hard to use, confusing, or didn't work with your assistive technology, please tell us. Anonymous reports are welcome. We read every message.

Request an accommodation or report a barrier → Or email [email protected]

The standards we work against

Our target is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA, as published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG 2.2 AA is the standard referenced by every major regulatory regime relevant to our users:

  • United States — ADA Title III. Applies to private entities, including nonprofits, that are "open to the public." The Department of Justice's April 2024 final rule adopted WCAG 2.1 AA for state and local governments; courts have broadly treated 2.1 AA as the practical standard for Title III private entities. We aim one version ahead.
  • United States — Section 508. Federal procurement standard; WCAG 2.0 AA baseline, subsumed by our target.
  • European Union — European Accessibility Act (Directive 2019/882). Enforcement began 28 June 2025. Requires a published accessibility statement and feedback mechanism for consumer-facing digital services with an EU nexus. This page plus the feedback form is our discharge of that duty.
  • United Kingdom — Equality Act 2010. Imposes a "reasonable adjustments" duty on service providers, including nonprofits serving UK residents.
  • Canada — AODA (Ontario), ACA (federal). WCAG 2.0 AA baseline; WCAG 2.2 satisfies both.
  • Texas — TX HB 3162 / TGC §2054.451. State agency and vendor standard; aligned with WCAG and subsumed by our target.

We go beyond WCAG where we can. Our mobile touch targets meet the 44×44 px floor (56 px on field-safety modules). We honor prefers-reduced-motion. We do not use native alert / confirm / prompt dialogs, which cannot be styled, internationalized, or reliably focus-trapped.

What we currently ship

Navigation & structure

  • Skip-to-content link on every page so keyboard users can bypass repeated navigation.
  • Semantic HTML with a correct heading hierarchy (one h1 per page; ordered h2–h6).
  • ARIA landmarks (navigation, main, contentinfo) for screen-reader orientation.
  • Language attribute (lang="en") set on every page, with per-region locale when translated.
  • Consistent focus order that matches visual order. Tab order is tested on every release.

Interactive elements

  • Full keyboard operability: every interactive feature, including modals, menus, and the portal map, is reachable and operable without a mouse.
  • Visible focus: all interactive elements expose a :focus-visible outline; focus is trapped inside modal dialogs and returns to the trigger on close.
  • ARIA patterns: dialogs use role="dialog" + aria-modal="true", tabs use the ARIA Authoring Practices tab pattern, live regions use role="status" or role="alert" as appropriate.
  • Touch targets: 44×44 px minimum on mobile; 56 px on safety-critical forms.
  • Form accessibility: programmatic labels on every input, error messages with role="alert", hints wired via aria-describedby, and validation that does not rely on color alone.

Visual design

  • Color contrast meets or exceeds WCAG AA (4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for non-text UI).
  • Dark mode with its own contrast-tuned palette, not a simple filter invert.
  • Image alternatives: meaningful images carry descriptive alt text; decorative images are hidden from assistive tech.
  • Reflow at up to 200% browser zoom without horizontal scrolling on standard pages.
  • Reduced motion: animations respect prefers-reduced-motion and degrade to instant transitions when requested.

Multilingual support

  • English, Spanish, and Italian language options.
  • Keyboard-accessible language switcher.
  • Plain-language review pass on core registration and safety flows.

Known limitations — honestly

We are still closing gaps. The list below is the real backlog we are working through, not a marketing list. If something important to you isn't on it, please tell us.

  • In Progress Full screen-reader audit across every admin and verification workflow.
  • In Progress Keyboard-only interaction path for the garden map (currently the mouse/touch path is primary; a keyboard-accessible list view is in scope for Phase 2).
  • In Progress Spanish and Italian translation coverage of all portal flows, not just the public site.
  • In Progress Cognitive-accessibility pass on long forms (steward application, verification, event creation) — shorter chunks, more explicit progress, predictable navigation.
  • In Progress Published Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for procurement conversations.
  • Planned Paid user-research panel with disabled users — "nothing about us without us" operationalized, not aspirational.

Compatibility

We actively test against the following assistive technologies:

  • Screen readers: NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), VoiceOver (macOS & iOS), TalkBack (Android).
  • Screen magnification software up to 400%.
  • Speech recognition software, including Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
  • Keyboard-only navigation and common switch-access patterns.

If you use an assistive technology we have not listed, please tell us on the feedback form. We want to learn.

Request accommodations or report a barrier

The fastest path is the form — it routes directly to our accessibility triage queue:

Open the accessibility feedback form →

Email: [email protected]

Postal mail: Holon Foundation, Attn: Accessibility, Houston, TX. (Email us for the current mailing address — we keep the street address off the public site for staff safety.)

Response commitments. If you ask for a reply, we aim to acknowledge within five business days and to follow up with a resolution or a status update within thirty business days. These commitments align with the practice established by GOV.UK and the EAA's "without undue delay" guidance.

Formal complaints

If we have not resolved your report to your satisfaction, you have the right to pursue a formal complaint. US residents may file a complaint with the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. EU residents may contact the accessibility authority of their member state. UK residents may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service. Nothing on this page waives those rights.

Review cadence

This statement is reviewed at least twice a year and whenever we ship a substantial change to the site or portal. It was last reviewed on April 22, 2026.