You are on lesson 2 of 5 in the course Supplementary Resources.
90-Day Compliance Checklist (PDF)
Introduction
Your agency publishes video content every week — city council meetings, planning commission hearings, budget presentations, public announcements. That content is valuable. But for the roughly 18% of your community members who have a disability, it may be completely inaccessible right now.
The good news is that this is fixable. Video accessibility isn't one big project — it's a series of smaller, manageable steps. This checklist breaks the work into three 30-day phases so you can make steady progress without overwhelming your team or your schedule.
By the end of 90 days, you'll have live captions running, a documented workflow for recorded content, and the foundation in place to sustain accessibility over time. That's a meaningful shift for the people you serve — and a meaningful step toward alignment with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
This resource is for educational purposes only. Completing every item here supports your video accessibility efforts and helps your agency move toward WCAG 2.1 Level AA. It is not legal advice, and completion does not guarantee a specific legal or regulatory outcome. Consult qualified legal counsel for guidance specific to your agency's situation.
What WCAG 2.1 Level AA requires for video
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It's the technical standard that the ADA Title II rule references for state and local government digital content. "Level AA" is the tier required for most government agencies.
For video content specifically, WCAG 2.1 Level AA addresses six main areas:
WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2 — Captions for all prerecorded video with audio (Level A)
WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.4 — Captions for all live video with audio (Level AA)
WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.5 — Audio descriptions for prerecorded video when visual content is essential to understanding (Level AA)
WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.1 — A text alternative or transcript for audio-only and video-only content (Level A)
WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.3 — Sufficient color contrast for text, including captions (Level AA)
WCAG Success Criterion 2.1.1 — All controls, including video player controls, must be usable by keyboard (Level A)
These criteria don't specify a particular technology or tool — they describe outcomes. Your job is to make sure those outcomes are consistently met for the people who depend on them.
The 90-day plan
A printable PDF version of this checklist is available for download here.
Days 1–30: Assessment and live captioning
The first 30 days are about two things: understanding where you stand and getting real-time captions running for your live meetings.
Content inventory
[ ] List every type of video content your agency publishes (city council meetings, planning commission hearings, departmental recordings, public service videos, event streams)
[ ] Note which content is live, which is recorded, and which is archive
[ ] Identify which content currently has captions and which does not
[ ] Flag recordings that include essential visual content — presented slides, maps, demonstrations, vote tallies — that may also need audio descriptions
[ ] Estimate your archive backlog: number of videos and approximate total hours
Live captioning setup
[ ] Confirm your captioning solution is integrated with your broadcast or streaming infrastructure
[ ] Run a test meeting from start to finish before going live with the public
[ ] Verify captions are displaying for remote viewers on your public-facing stream
[ ] Verify captions are displaying on in-room screens for physical attendees
[ ] Confirm that mobile viewers can access captions without downloading an app
[ ] Test caption display at your next scheduled public meeting
Planning
[ ] Share a brief written summary of your inventory and gap assessment with your supervisor or accessibility coordinator
[ ] Identify the staff member who will own caption review after each meeting
[ ] Set a realistic target date for completing your recorded content backlog
Live captions are running at your public meetings. You have a clear inventory of all video content and a plan to address gaps.
Days 31–60: Workflow, quality, and transcripts
Phase 2 is about building habits. Accessibility works best when it's part of your normal operations — not a special project that requires extra effort every time.
Caption quality
[ ] Establish a post-meeting caption review process: who reviews, how quickly, and what standard they're checking against (supports WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2)
[ ] Create a custom vocabulary list for your agency — department names, local place names, staff names, and frequently used acronyms
[ ] Document your caption review steps in writing so any staff member can follow them
Automated captions improve significantly with custom vocabulary, but reviewing after each meeting helps catch errors before recordings are published. A trained staff member's review makes a measurable difference in caption quality.
Visual display standards
[ ] Review your caption text and background color contrast against WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.3 (minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal-sized text)
[ ] Confirm caption font size is readable at typical viewing distances for both in-room and remote viewers
[ ] Verify that caption display does not rely on color alone to convey information
Transcripts
[ ] Confirm transcripts are being saved and organized for each meeting or recorded video (supports WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.1)
[ ] Establish a process for making transcripts available to the public — on your website, a public portal, or by request
[ ] Spot-check a transcript for accessibility: Is the file readable by a screen reader? Does it have clear structure?
Language access
[ ] Identify the top languages spoken in your community based on census data or service request history
[ ] Enable real-time translation for those languages on your live stream
[ ] Test translation access on at least one live or recorded meeting
[ ] Document which languages are available and how residents can access them
Staff readiness
[ ] Train all staff who operate captioning for live meetings
[ ] Identify a single point of contact for accessibility questions and accommodation requests
[ ] Add accessibility review to your regular post-meeting checklist
Your captioning workflow is documented and repeatable. Transcripts are publicly available. Staff know their roles and can operate without direct supervision.
Days 61–90: Audio descriptions, archive, and documentation
Phase 3 expands your accessibility coverage to recorded content and builds the documentation habits that will serve your agency over time.
Audio descriptions
Understanding why audio descriptions matter is the starting point. When a presenter shows a slide with budget figures, a map of proposed zone changes, or a demonstration of a new civic program, people who are blind or have low vision can't access that information through captions alone. Audio descriptions — brief narrations of essential visual content — fill that gap.
Not every video needs audio descriptions. A meeting where speakers simply talk at a podium with no visual content presented probably doesn't. A planning commission meeting where zoning maps are shown and discussed almost certainly does.
[ ] Review your flagged videos from Phase 1 to confirm which contain essential visual content
[ ] Prioritize those videos for audio description (supports WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.5)
[ ] Review completed audio descriptions for accuracy before publishing — pay particular attention to data, charts, and policy documents
[ ] Publish audio descriptions alongside original videos
[ ] Keep a running log of which videos have received audio descriptions
Auto-generated audio descriptions benefit significantly from staff review, especially for content involving policy details, data visualizations, or contextually complex visuals.
Archive remediation
[ ] Prioritize your backlog: start with the most-viewed content, followed by content referenced in recent public decisions
[ ] Process archived videos through your caption workflow
[ ] Track remediation progress — videos completed, hours captioned, remaining backlog
[ ] Set a realistic schedule for completing the remainder of your archive
Accessible video player
[ ] Confirm your video player controls are reachable without a mouse (supports WCAG Success Criterion 2.1.1)
[ ] Test that play, pause, volume, and caption toggle controls are all keyboard accessible
[ ] Verify the player is usable with a screen reader
[ ] Check that all controls have visible text labels — not just icons
Documentation
[ ] Create a simple accessibility log: setup date, training completed, meetings captioned, gaps identified
[ ] Save caption coverage reports to document your progress
[ ] Document any gaps you're still working to address and your timeline for resolving them
[ ] Store documentation somewhere it can be found quickly if your agency receives an accessibility complaint or inquiry
Ongoing habits
[ ] Schedule a quarterly review of your accessibility workflows
[ ] Create a simple process for residents to request accessible formats
[ ] Assign someone to monitor accessibility updates and flag relevant changes to your team
Audio descriptions are in place for priority content. Your archive remediation is active and tracked. You have written documentation that shows your agency's good-faith progress.
What this looks like in practice
Government staff across the country are doing this work right now, often alongside other duties. A few scenarios that reflect common starting points:
A municipal clerk managing meeting logistics, records, and public access video for a mid-sized city started by running captions at one city council meeting per week and built from there. By month two, she had a standard post-meeting review checklist. By month three, transcripts were available on the city website within 24 hours of each meeting.
A county IT coordinator assigned accessibility responsibilities without much context started with the content inventory — just a spreadsheet — and used it to make the case for additional resources. The inventory became the foundation for a remediation plan that leadership could understand and approve.
A two-person communications team for a county with a large Spanish-speaking population prioritized live translation setup in Phase 1 alongside captions, because language access was already a top resident request. They didn't wait until Phase 2 to address it.
Your 90 days will look different from these. That's expected. What matters is that you start, track your progress, and build on what's working.
MediaScribe integration
MediaScribe is designed to support video accessibility workflows for government agencies. Here's how it maps to the three phases above.
In Phase 1, MediaScribe Live provides real-time captions for live meetings through a Gateway appliance that connects to your existing broadcast infrastructure. Once configured, it displays captions on public streams, in-room screens, and mobile devices simultaneously — without requiring attendees to download anything.
In Phase 2, the caption editing interface lets staff review and correct captions after each meeting. Custom vocabulary can be imported to improve accuracy for agency-specific terms. Transcripts are saved automatically in Files and can be exported for public posting. Translation into 72+ languages runs through the same workflow.
In Phase 3, MediaScribe Narrate provides cloud-based audio description generation for recorded video. Staff should review descriptions before publishing. Archive content can be uploaded to Files for processing, and caption coverage reports can be exported to support your documentation needs.
MediaScribe is one part of your accessibility strategy, not the whole strategy. Staff training, workflow documentation, and ongoing review are yours to own — and they're what make the difference between accessibility as a one-time setup and accessibility as a sustainable practice.
Summary
Video accessibility under WCAG 2.1 Level AA covers six areas for government video: live captions, prerecorded captions, audio descriptions, text alternatives, color contrast, and keyboard access.
A 90-day plan breaks implementation into three phases: foundation and live captioning, quality workflows and transcripts, and audio descriptions with documentation.
Not all video needs audio descriptions — focus first on content where visual information is essential to understanding, such as presentations with slides, maps, or data.
Custom vocabulary and post-meeting review are two of the highest-impact steps for improving caption quality over time.
Written documentation of your accessibility efforts matters — it demonstrates good-faith progress and supports your agency's accountability.
Accessibility is ongoing. Staff changes, new content, and platform updates mean your workflows need regular review, not just a one-time setup.
The goal is to serve your whole community — not to check a box.
What's next
With your 90-day plan in hand, the next step is understanding what caption quality actually looks like in practice. Module 1.2: Creating and editing captions walks through common errors in government meeting captions, how to build a review process your team can sustain, and how to handle tricky situations like cross-talk, speaker identification, and non-speech audio.
MediaScribe Academy · Video accessibility resources for government staff · Version 1.0 · January 2026