It is best practice to start every class with an access check, which is a way of checking in with students as well as sharing valuable information about accessibility features available.

In-Person Access Check Guidelines

Begin classes with an Access Check. This can be part of your opening ritual.

An Access Check can include many things.

• Access Need Intro: “Let’s go around the circle and say our name, pronouns, and any access needs.” Tip: If this is your first time doing this with this group, provide an opportunity for students to define “access needs” or share a definition with students and invite them to share possible examples.
• Mood Check: “How are we feeling today?” This could be done in a number of ways. 
  • “Show me a thumbs up/middle/down.” 
  • Ask a creative question: “What kind of weather pattern are you?” “What color best represents your mood today and why?” 
  • Simply asking the question to the group. 
• Ask students what they need to be/feel more creative: “What would help you today to feel braver, safer, and more creative?” 
• Ask students how they would like you to approach them: “Do you like me to get down to your level? Do you prefer eye contact?”
• Go through the Adaptive Tools that are available if they need them. 
• Introduce the activity beforehand. This might look like: “This part of the lesson might get a little loud. Is anyone sensitive to that?” or “We are all going to applaud, if anyone is not ready raise your hand.”
• Create an agenda for the class. 
• Create and refer back to Community Agreements. 
• Don’t forget to include all the Classroom Professionals in your Access Checks! 

When leading an Access Check, be sure to include the following:

Volume and Speed

• Start by asking your students: “Am I speaking loud enough? Am I speaking too fast?” This will give you a good idea of what speed and volume you will need to maintain for the rest of the session.
• Have students let you know if they need you to change volume or speed at any time during the class.

Student Participation

Establish the best way for students to get your attention and participate in the class and share this information in your Access Check. You might ask students to 

• raise their hand; 
• hold up a hand signal; 
• say their name.

Describe Images and Videos

It’s possible that not all students can see the visual aids that you are using, so be sure to describe them. This is true for students who are blind or low-vision, and may also be true for students with technology issues or poor internet connectivity. Below are some tips on how to be more descriptive. 

Share the following when describing images:

• What’s the setting or background of the image? 
• Who or what is in the photo? 
• What are they doing? 

Virtual Access Check Guidelines

When leading an Access Check, be sure to include the following:

Volume and Speed

• Start by asking your students: “Am I speaking loud enough? Am I speaking too fast?” This will give you a good idea of what speed and volume you will need to maintain for the rest of the session.
• Have students let you know if they need you to change volume or speedat any time throughout the class.

Reminder to Mute/Unmute Microphones

• Background noise can make it difficult for students to hear, focus, and share during the lesson. Extra noise may also make it challenging to provide accurate closed captions or ASL translation. 
• Remind students that only one person should speak at a time, and that everyone should mute themselves when they are not speaking. 
• You may also want to ask students to say their name before they begin talking, so others know who’s sharing. 
• Be sure to explain how to mute and unmute if students are new to the platform you’re using—or if they need a reminder. 

Attendee Participation

Establish the best way for students to get your attention and participate in the session and share this information in your Access Check.

• Ask students to unmute themselves and say their name if they have a question or comment. 
• Ask students to use the chat to ask questions. If you are using this method, it is important to have someone else monitoring the chat while you host. 
• Ask students to use the Raise Hand feature, if available. This may also require someone to monitor. 

Announce Accessibility Features

• Be sure to tell students if there is ASL interpretation, live captioning or documents in accessible formats and explain how to access those resources. 
• You may also want to share any content (slides, worksheets, videos) ahead of time in case students need to use their own tools to access the materials.

Describe Images and Videos

It’s possible that not all students can see the visual aids that you are using, so be sure to describe them. This is true for students who are blind or low-vision, and may also be true for students with technology issues or poor internet connectivity. Below are some tips on how to be more descriptive. 

Share the following when describing images:

• What’s the setting or background of the image? 
• Who or what is in the photo? 
• What are they doing?  

Follow this format if you are describing slides:

• First: Read the slide title every time you advance to a new slide; 
• Then: Before you start talking about your slide, describe any images on the slide such as photos, graphs, charts, etc.; 
• Finally: Say what you wanted to say about the slide.

Access Check ‘Script’

Volume and Speed

• “Am I speaking loud enough?”
• “Am I speaking too fast?”
• “Please let us know in the chat if you need any adjustments or use the buttons below the participant list to alert us to go slower, etc.”

Please Mute Your Microphone

• “Please do so whenever you aren’t speaking to eliminate background noise.”

If You Need Something You Can

• “‘raise your hand’ with the Zoom or Google Meet Raise Hand feature”;
• “type in the chat or send a private chat message to _______”;
• “unmute yourself and say your name (then wait for the host to check in with you).”

Please Say Your Name Before You Speak

• This helps students who are blind/low-vision or anyone joining by phone.

Use the Chat

• “Please feel free to submit questions or requests. Someone will be monitoring the chat to track questions and needs.”

Accessibility Features Available in Today’s Meeting Include

• “closed captions, ASL interpretation, audio description.”*
• “If you need assistance with any of these features, message ________ using the chat.”

*Only say the features you have for your meeting.