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State Controller Policy: Accessibility and Contract and Grant Templates

Effective Date:12/1/2024

Approved by: Robert Jaros, CPA, MBA, JD, Colorado State Controller

Authority

  • §24-30-202(1), C.R.S. (State Controller Authority for Commitment Vouchers)
  • §24-85-101 et seq. C.R.S. Accessibility Standards
  • 8 CCR 1501-11 Governor’s Office of Information Technology Accessibility Rules 
  • World Wide Web Consortium, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Background

  • Overall - The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has statutory authority in 4-85-101 C.R.S. to establish statewide accessibility standards. OIT’s rules establish standards for technology accessibility.
  • Accessible – Accessible is defined as fully compliant with all applicable success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version and levels required or defined by OIT’s Technology Accessibility Standards.
  • Contract and Grant Templates - This policy concerns accessibility for contract and grant templates.  Currently, an accessible Microsoft Word document that is converted to Google Docs or other software can become inaccessible. 

Policy

  • The Office of the State Controller (OSC) shall create and distribute accessible contract, grant, and modification templates in Microsoft Word format.
  • Any contract, grant, or modification executed after December 1, 2024 must use the OSC template, and where an accessible OSC template exists, must be accessible.
  • Agencies shall not modify OSC templates without prior written approval of the OSC.
  • Agencies may continue to use agency-specific templates approved by the OSC.
  • Agencies shall have responsibility to remediate their agency specific templates as well as other documents included with the contract such as a statement of work.
  • Agencies shall use the most recent version of a template from the OSC’s website for each new contract, grant, modification or other agreement.
  • Agencies should use Microsoft Word for all contract modifications unless a technical, operational, or other significant barrier requires the use of alternative word processing solutions.
  • Agencies shall not change the OSC templates, including updating them for accessibility, without the written approval of the OSC.
  • Agencies shall convert all documents in their final state to Microsoft Word or PDF format prior to submission to the OSC for final approval. All documents submitted to the OSC, including completed templates, exhibits, statements of work, and similar documents, must be accessible. Agencies are solely responsible for ensuring the accessibility of their documents.

 State Controller Policies