Norway investigates extension of anti-discrimination legislation
In December 2014, the Norwegian Agency for Public Management and eGovernment, Difi, published an impact assessment on including education into the Norwegian legislation on accessible ICT. The analysis consultancy firm Oslo Economics made the investigation. Funka provided with technical expertise and knowledge on accessibility and disabilities.
I’m very pleased that this impact assessment has been made, says Funka’s CEO Susanna Laurin. We’ve argued for this sake for a long time - the educational sector needs the same tools to combat discrimination as the rest of the society do.
The investigation has analysed both potential benefits and costs to society. The report points out large positive effects, including increased access to information, and more people in both education and employment.
Assessing the costs for web accessibility is always difficult. This is partly because such improvements often are carried out while new development or re-brandings are occurring. The specific costs for increased accessibility are therefore difficult to discern.
Even with conservative estimates, the debate should be as much about the alternative, says Susanna Laurin. To exempt education from the requirement of web accessibility is likely to cause unnecessary difficult conditions for children and youth with disabilities.