Accessibility Statement

Agard Research Associates Inc. is committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to people with disabilities. We strive to make our site easy to use for everyone, including those with disabilities.

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

Agard Research Associates Inc.

A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation

Effective Date: March 4, 2025

Last Updated: August 25, 2026

1. OUR COMMITMENT

Agard Research Associates Inc. is an independent, nonpartisan public policy research institute organized as a New Jersey nonprofit corporation. We are committed to digital accessibility for people with disabilities, and we work to improve the experience of using our website, publications, and digital resources for everyone.

Research and public policy analysis are of no use to a person who cannot read them. We therefore treat accessibility as part of the substance of our work rather than as a separate compliance exercise, and we apply that standard to the material we publish as well as to the site that delivers it.

2. CONFORMANCE STATUS

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium. WCAG 2.2 Level AA incorporates all of the success criteria of WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which is the standard most frequently referenced in United States enforcement and rulemaking.

Our current conformance status is partially conformant. "Partially conformant" means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. We use this description deliberately. We have not obtained an independent third-party audit or a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, and we do not claim a level of conformance we have not verified.

The four principles underlying the standard, and which guide our work, are:

Perceivable. Information and interface components are presented in ways users can perceive.
Operable. Interface components and navigation can be operated by all users.
Understandable. Information and the operation of the interface are understandable.
Robust. Content can be interpreted reliably by a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies.

3. ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

We have implemented or are working toward the following on our website.

NAVIGATION AND STRUCTURE

Consistent navigation across pages
True heading elements applied in a logical hierarchy, so that assistive technology can move through a page by heading rather than line by line
A reading order that follows the visual order of the page
Descriptive, unique page titles

VISUAL DESIGN

A contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and meaningful interface components
Text that can be resized to 200 percent without loss of content or function
No content that flashes more than three times per second
Visible focus indicators for keyboard navigation
Color is never the only means of conveying information

CONTENT

Alternative text for images that carry meaning, and null alternative text for images that are purely decorative
Link text that is descriptive when read out of context, rather than "click here" or a bare address
Captions or transcripts for multimedia content where available
Form labels and instructions programmatically associated with their fields
Plain-language summaries for technical and research content wherever the subject matter permits

DOCUMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS

Our public policies are published as text on the website itself, not only as attachments, so that they can be read, searched, magnified, and translated in the browser without downloading a file
A downloadable version of each policy is offered alongside the on-page text as a convenience, not as a substitute for it
New publications are prepared with tagged headings, alternative text, and a defined reading order

4. COMPATIBILITY

Our website is designed to work with current versions of the following assistive technologies:

Screen readers, including JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack
Screen magnification software
Speech recognition software
Keyboard-only navigation

Our website is designed to work with the two most recent major versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge. Combinations of older browsers with older assistive technology may produce results we have not tested.

5. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND PLATFORM

Accessibility of our website relies on the following technologies: HTML, WAI-ARIA, CSS, and JavaScript.

Our website is built and hosted on the Wix platform. Some structural and interactive elements of the site are generated by that platform and are not fully within our control. Where a platform-generated component creates an accessibility barrier, we will report the issue to the vendor and, in the meantime, provide the affected content or function by an alternative accessible means on request.

6. KNOWN LIMITATIONS

Despite our efforts, the following limitations are known to exist. We describe them here so that users can anticipate them and request an alternative rather than discovering the barrier without warning.

Platform-generated components. Certain navigation, form, and media components are produced by our hosting platform. We can influence but not fully control their markup.
Third-party embedded content. Embedded video players, donation forms, mapping tools, and social media feeds are controlled by their providers and may not meet Level AA. Please contact us and we will supply an accessible alternative.
Older documents. Some documents published before our current standards took effect are not fully tagged. We are remediating these and will produce an accessible version of any specific document on request.
Complex data presentations. Charts, tables, and figures in research publications may not yet have complete text alternatives. We will provide the underlying data or a narrative description on request.
Third-party research instruments. Survey and data collection tools operated by external providers are subject to the accessibility of those providers. We will identify an accessible route to participation on request.

7. ASSESSMENT APPROACH

We evaluate the accessibility of our website by the following methods:

Self-evaluation using automated accessibility testing tools
Manual keyboard-only navigation testing
Manual testing with screen reader software
Review of new and revised pages against the WCAG 2.2 Level AA success criteria before publication

Automated tools detect only a portion of accessibility defects. We therefore do not rely on them alone, and we treat reports from users as a primary source of information about barriers rather than as complaints to be managed.

This statement was last reviewed on August 19, 2026. We review it at least annually and whenever a substantial change is made to the website.

8. FEEDBACK

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our website. If you encounter a barrier, or if you have a suggestion, please tell us. A report from a user is often the fastest way for us to learn that something is wrong.

When you contact us, it helps if you can tell us the page address, what you were trying to do, and what assistive technology or browser you were using. None of this is required, and we will act on a report that includes none of it.

Accessibility Coordinator

Agard Research Associates Inc.

Email: accessibility@agardresearchassociates.org

Telephone: +1 (732) 646-6497

Postal: 859 US Highway 130, Ste 5 PMB 5020, East Windsor, NJ 08520-2900, United States

Our response commitment. We aim to acknowledge accessibility feedback within five business days and to resolve reported barriers within thirty days where doing so is technically feasible. Where a barrier cannot be resolved within that period, we will tell you why, give you an expected timeframe, and provide the content or function by an alternative means in the interim.

9. ALTERNATIVE FORMATS

We will provide information from our website in an alternative format on request, at no charge.

To make a request, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator and tell us:

The document or content you need
The format you require, such as large print, Braille, accessible electronic text, audio, or plain text
How we should send it to you

We will confirm receipt of your request and work with you to deliver the information in a usable format within a reasonable time.

10. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

We treat accessibility as ongoing work rather than a finished state. Our current commitments are to:

Test new and revised pages before publication
Train directors, officers, volunteers, and contributors on accessible content practices
Build accessibility requirements into our content creation and website development processes rather than applying them after publication
Monitor and act on user feedback
Track changes to accessibility standards and adjust our practices accordingly
Consider an independent accessibility audit as organizational resources permit

11. LEGAL AND REGULATORY CONTEXT

This statement is made in support of our own commitment to accessibility. We have prepared it with reference to the following frameworks, some of which may not apply to us as a matter of law and to which we look in any case as a matter of practice:

The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794d, which governs federal agencies and, in certain circumstances, recipients of federal funds
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.
The European Accessibility Act, Directive (EU) 2019/882, applicable in the European Union since 28 June 2025, which we take into account for visitors located in the European Union

Nothing in this statement is an admission that any particular statute or regulation applies to Agard Research Associates Inc., and nothing in it creates a contractual obligation. This statement is not legal advice.

12. FORMAL COMPLAINTS

If you are not satisfied with our response to an accessibility concern, you may escalate it as follows:

Internally. Write to info@agardresearchassociates.org with "Accessibility Complaint" in the subject line. A complaint sent to this address is reviewed by a person other than the one who handled the original report.
United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. You may file a complaint at civilrights.justice.gov.
New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. You may file a complaint at nj.gov/oag/dcr.

You are not required to raise a concern with us before contacting an external body, and we will not treat having done so as a precondition to responding.

13. RELATED POLICIES

END OF ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

Agard Research Associates Inc. | A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation | EIN 33-3784865 | 859 US Highway 130, Ste 5 PMB 5020, East Windsor, NJ 08520-2900

Accessibility Statement