Accessibility
Potato Class is built so every student can learn — not just most. This page documents the standards we target, accommodations we ship, known limitations, and how to request alternate access or report a barrier.
Conformance commitment
We target WCAG 2.1 Level AA across web and Apple HIG accessibility best practices on iPad. Last internal audit: 2026-04-18. This is a first-pass commitment with documented limitations, not a static promise — the page below is updated when audits land.
Standards we conform to
| Standard | Status | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| WCAG 2.1 Level AA | Target conformance | Web (potatoclass.com) — student practice, teacher dashboard, marketing site. |
| Section 508 (Revised 2017) | Aligned | Federal accessibility standard for ICT — incorporates WCAG 2.0 AA by reference. |
| Apple HIG — Accessibility | Target conformance | iPad app — VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion, accessibility traits. |
| EN 301 549 | Aligned (via WCAG 2.1 AA) | European procurement standard — WCAG-equivalent for international districts. |
Accommodations available today
| Feature | How it works |
|---|---|
| Text-to-speech (TTS) | All question text and reading passages can be read aloud. Available student-side and teacher-assigned. System TTS (Web Speech / AVSpeech) ensures availability without third-party dependencies. |
| Simplified language mode | Teachers can flag students for simplified directions and shorter passages on assigned tasks. Surfaced at assignment time per student. |
| Reduce Motion | iPad app respects Apple’s system-level Reduce Motion preference — idle animations (breath, blink, leg) are disabled when enabled by the user. |
| Untimed assessments | Grow assessment is untimed by design. Rapid-guess detection is a behavioral flag for response validity, not a time ceiling. Matches iReady and MAP Growth conventions. |
| Stealth-theta opt-out | Teachers can opt individual students out of adaptive theta estimation when it would cause anxiety — the student still completes items but score reporting is anchored differently. |
| Keyboard navigation | Web app supports Tab/Shift-Tab traversal with visible focus rings; Escape dismisses overlays; Enter submits answers. |
| Screen reader support | Web overlays use role=dialog + aria-modal + labelled-by; icon-only buttons carry aria-label. iPad visuals expose VoiceOver descriptions for 60+ question-visual types via accessibilityLabel. |
Tested with
| VoiceOver (macOS, iOS, iPadOS) | Tested |
| NVDA (Windows) | Tested |
| Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge (current and current-1) | Tested |
| iPad app on iPadOS 17+ | Tested |
| axe-core automated rule set | Run on every public route |
Known limitations (we're honest about gaps)
Conformance claims should never paper over real gaps. Below is the current honest accounting. These items are tracked internally and addressed on a continuous basis.
| Area | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas-rendered visuals (web) | Partial | Some interactive visuals on the web (drawing overlays, dynamic geometry) rely on the question text for context rather than per-element ARIA. The iPad equivalent has per-visual VoiceOver descriptions; web parity is on the roadmap. |
| Color-only distinctions | Reviewed | Subject color coding (math = blue, reading = purple) is paired with text labels and icons; color is never the sole signal. WCAG 1.4.1 audit complete. |
| Motion / parallax | Compliant | No parallax. iPad respects Reduce Motion. Web animations use short durations (≤400ms) and respect prefers-reduced-motion where the browser supports it. |
| Captions / audio | N/A | No video content with audio narration. AiPa speech is short, on-demand, and the same content is rendered as on-screen text. |
Reporting a barrier or requesting alternate access
If you encounter an accessibility barrier in Potato Class, or need alternate access to information on this site, please contact us. We respond to access requests within two business days and to barrier reports within five business days with either a fix or a documented timeline.
Email: partnerships@growingstandard.com with subject line beginning "Accessibility:"
What to include:the page or screen, the assistive technology you were using, and what you expected to happen versus what did. If you can include a screenshot or screen reader transcript, that's helpful but not required.
For procurement reviewers
VPAT 2.4 Rev INT (WCAG 2.1) is in progress and will be available on request to active procurement engagements. In the meantime, our internal audit report covers per-criterion findings for both web and iPad and is available under the same DPA terms as our HECVAT-Lite and Multi-State Privacy Addendum.
Related procurement documents: Data Privacy · DPA Summary · DPA Template · Security · Service Status
Last reviewed: 2026-04-25. Next scheduled review: 2026-07-25 (quarterly cadence). Audit methodology: WCAG 2.1 manual review against W3C Quick Reference + axe-core automated scan + VoiceOver/NVDA assistive technology testing. Accessibility is a continuous practice, not a certification.