Presented at 1:45 pm in Colorado F on Thursday, November 20, 2025.
#41096Speaker(s)
- Charles LaPierre, Principal, Accessibility and Content Quality Architect, Benetech
- Phillip Turner, Web and Apple Administrator, Haywood Community College
- Darrin Evans, Director Virtual Learning Community (VLC) Professional Development Center, WakeTech
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Panel
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Ensure equitable access for all learners with BASE (Benetech’s Accessibility Services for Education). Learn how it delivers practical solutions, highlighted by pilot results. Discover barriers, understand our services, and gain insights from feedback and lessons learned. We provide tailored training and resources, leading to actionable plans for an inclusive environment where every student can thrive. Discover how BASE can empower every student to unlock their full learning potential.
Abstract
Ensuring equitable access for students with disabilities remains a critical challenge for educational organizations. Inaccessible digital resources, outdated policies, and a lack of widespread awareness can significantly impede learning. Benetech’s Accessibility Services for Education (BASE) offers a proven solution to dramatically elevate an educational organization's accessibility capacity, as demonstrated by the results of our pilot program conducted this year.
BASE provides a suite of interconnected services designed to foster inclusive learning environments. Our Digital Audit meticulously reviews digital assets against accessibility standards, identifying specific areas for improvement.
The Accessibility Maturity Model offers a valuable framework for organizations to assess and advance their accessibility policies, processes, and outcomes.
Furthermore, our tailored Professional Development equips educators and staff with the essential skills to create accessible content, effectively utilize built-in accessibility tools, and implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
This presentation will highlight the tangible results and key lessons learned from the implementation of BASE within four distinct pilot programs. We will share concrete outcomes, participant feedback, and practical insights gained through real-world application. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the specific barriers identified, the effectiveness of various BASE services in addressing these challenges, and valuable feedback directly from those who participated in the pilots.
Beyond the pilot findings, this session will empower attendees to identify key accessibility barriers within their own organizations and understand how Benetech's BASE initiative provides practical, evidence-based solutions. Participants will leave with actionable strategies and a clearer understanding of how to foster a more inclusive learning environment for all.
Keypoints
- Learn key results and feedback from our pilot program implementing Benetech's BASE.
- Understand practical accessibility solutions offered by BASE, informed by pilot program outcomes.
- Develop actionable strategies for inclusive education based on pilot program lessons learned.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessibility and Accommodation in the Current Political/Legal Environment, Procurement, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Charles LaPierre
Charles LaPierre, Benetech: Principal, Accessibility Standards, and Technical Lead, Global Certified Accessible. Charles has over 25 years’ accessibility development experience and has been a pioneer in accessible product development since 1993. Charles currently a member of the following W3C Working Groups: Publishing Working Group, MathML Refresh, ARIA, APA / Personalization Task Force, as well as a member of the EPUB3 W3C Community Group, and co-chair of the Accessibility Metadata W3C Community Group. Charles is the technical architect of the new Global Certified Accessible initiative at Benetech to certify publisher content as conforming to the new EPUB 1.0 Accessibility Specification. Charles has a bachelor's and master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Phillip Turner
Phillip Turner has worked in education since 2007 and has focused on web and content development since 2015. He led the redesign of the website and content management platform at Haywood Community College, addressing accessibility and alignment to industry standards for compliance. He currently co-leads Haywood’s campus-wide Accessibility and Usability Initiative. In his role as Web and Apple Administrator, he supports device management of all apple devices, as well as manages updates and software distribution for immersive learning hardware, such as VR, AR, etc. In addition, he contributes to the testing and procurement of these devices and services, providing guidance for their use in an instructional capacity. Other interests include photography and enjoying the mountains of western North Carolina.
Darrin Evans
Darrin Evans is the Director of The Virtual Learning Community (VLC) Professional Development (PD) Center and an Accessibility Technologist at Wake Technical Community College. He has his Master’s in Instructional Technology and Design and is a former middle school teacher and technology facilitator and web master. Darrin works with faculty and staff across the curriculum at all 58 North Carolina community colleges on creating and delivering effective, accessible content.