Skip to main content

Accessibility Conformance Statement

This statement describes the accessibility conformance of the Texas Design System component library. It is intended for state agencies evaluating the design system for adoption and for developers building on top of it.

Field Value
Product Texas Design System
Version 1.0.0
Date April 2026
Standard WCAG 2.2 Level AA
Evaluation method Self-assessment
Scope Reflects the delivered version — the receiving agency is responsible for maintaining conformance as the system evolves

Conformance Status

The Texas Design System is substantially conformant with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. Substantially conformant means that the design system meets the majority of WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria. Known partial or non-conformances are documented below.


What We Tested

Each component was evaluated against WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria using:

  • Manual keyboard navigation testing
  • Screen reader testing (VoiceOver on macOS, NVDA on Windows)
  • Color contrast analysis against WCAG 1.4.3 and 1.4.11 thresholds
  • HTML validation and semantic structure review
  • ARIA attribute correctness review

Key Accessibility Features

Feature Implementation
Skip navigation txds-skipnav link provided in the base template
Focus indicators Visible focus outlines on all interactive elements (WCAG 2.4.7, 2.4.11)
Color contrast All text/background combinations meet 4.5:1 (normal text) and 3:1 (large text) minimums
Keyboard navigation All interactive components operable by keyboard alone
ARIA roles and labels Applied to alerts (role="alert"), navigation (aria-label), modals, accordions, and form fields
Error identification Form errors use aria-describedby linking inputs to error messages
Responsive design Content reflows at 320px width without horizontal scrolling (WCAG 1.4.10)
Motion No animations that cannot be paused or stopped

Component Conformance Summary

Component Conformance Notes
Accordion Supports aria-expanded, keyboard open/close
Alert Banner Supports role="alert" / role="status" per severity
Breadcrumb Supports aria-label="Breadcrumb", aria-current="page"
Button Supports All states keyboard accessible, disabled state uses aria-disabled
Card Supports Linked cards use descriptive link text
Chip / Content Tag Supports Static — no interactive state
Desktop Navigation Supports Keyboard navigable, aria-current on active item
Featured Banner Supports Heading hierarchy maintained
Footer Supports role="contentinfo", required legal links present
Form / Inputs Supports Labels, error messages, aria-describedby
Header Bar Supports role="banner", skip nav target
Hero Supports Heading hierarchy, image alt text required
Icons Supports Decorative icons use aria-hidden="true"
Mega Menu Supports Keyboard navigable, focus trap on open
Modal Supports Focus trap, role="dialog", aria-modal
Page Header Supports Landmark heading
Pagination Supports aria-label on nav, aria-current="page"
Search Supports aria-label on input, landmark <main>
Search Results Supports Semantic list structure, external link icon labeled
Step Indicator Supports aria-current="step"
Table Supports <thead>, <th scope> on all headers
Texas Banner Supports Decorative — no interactive content
Video Player Partial Captions required on embedded video content — agency responsibility

Known Limitations

Issue Criterion Status
Video captions 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) Not applicable to the component itself — agencies must ensure captions on embedded video content
PDF and document links 1.1.1 Non-text Content Out of scope — agencies are responsible for accessible documents linked from their pages
Third-party fonts (Google Fonts) 3.1 Readable Fonts load asynchronously; a fallback sans-serif is specified. Agencies on restricted networks should self-host fonts.

New in WCAG 2.2 (vs 2.1)

The following WCAG 2.2-specific criteria were evaluated:

Criterion Description Status
2.4.11 Focus Appearance Focus indicator meets minimum size and contrast Supports
2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) Focused components not fully hidden by sticky headers Supports
2.5.3 Label in Name Visible labels match accessible names Supports
2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) Interactive targets are at least 24×24px Supports
3.2.6 Consistent Help Help/contact links in consistent location Supports
3.3.7 Redundant Entry Form flows do not require re-entry of information Not applicable — no multi-step form component
3.3.8 Accessible Authentication No cognitive tests required to authenticate Not applicable — no auth component

Related Resources