Update kibana-accessibility-statement.md (elastic#231956)

bhavyarm · nastasha-solomon · web-flow · commit 39015c578566 · 2025-08-18T15:29:31.000-04:00
Updating our Kibana accessibility statement for FY26 with a few more
details which I have gathered from customer questions.

---------

Co-authored-by: Nastasha Solomon &lt;79124755+nastasha-solomon@users.noreply.github.com&gt;
diff --git a/docs/reference/kibana-accessibility-statement.md b/docs/reference/kibana-accessibility-statement.md
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-description: Accessibility statement for Kibana
+description: Accessibility statement for Elastic products
 applies_to:
   stack: all
   serverless: all
@@ -9,51 +9,95 @@ mapped_pages:
   - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/accessibility.html
 ---
 
-# {{kib}} accessibility statement
+# {{kib}} Accessibility Statement (USA, Europe, and Beyond)
 
-Elastic is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience, and strive toward ensuring our tools are usable by everyone.
+Elastic is committed to ensuring that our product suite is accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. This statement outlines our ongoing efforts to meet or exceed accessibility compliance requirements in the United States, the European Union, and globally. We view accessibility as a core part of user experience and software quality.
 
-## Measures to support accessibility
-Elastic takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of Kibana:
+## Legal Compliance and Standards
+Elastic aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, the most current version of globally recognized accessibility standards.
+* United States
+  - Federal agencies follow Section 508, which requires WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance.
+  - The 2024 ADA amendment raises the bar to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
+* European Union
+  - The European Accessibility Act (EAA) took effect on June 28, 2025, mandating that consumer-facing digital products and services meet accessibility outcomes defined in Annex I, typically interpreted as WCAG 2.1/2.2    Level AA.
+  - Member States may enforce stricter local accessibility laws and penalties for non-compliance.
+
+Elastic is proactively auditing its products and publishing Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) to ensure alignment with both U.S. and EU requirements.
 
-* Maintains and incorporates an [accessible component library](https://elastic.github.io/eui/).
-* Provides continual accessibility training for our staff.
-* Employs a third-party audit.
+## Measures to support accessibility
+Elastic takes the following measures to ensure accessibility across Kibana:
+- Maintains and incorporates an accessible component library.
+- Provides continual accessibility training to staff.
+- Conducts continuous accessibility audits and ensures that any found issues get fixed in a reasonable timeframe.
+We value and prioritize accessibility feedback from our users and customers. Their input plays a critical role in shaping our accessibility roadmap and helps us address real-world barriers more effectively.
 
 ## Conformance status
-Kibana aims to meet [WCAG 2.1 level AA](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/?currentsidebar=%23col_customize&levels=aaa&technologies=server%2Csmil%2Cflash%2Csl) compliance. Currently, we can only claim to partially conform, meaning we do not fully meet all of the success criteria. However, we do try to take a broader view of accessibility, and go above and beyond the legal and regulatory standards to provide a good experience for all of our users.
+Elastic and its suite of products aim to meet [WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/?versions=2.1). Currently, we partially conform, meaning some success criteria have not yet been fully met. However, Elastic goes beyond regulatory minimums to deliver inclusive design and user experiences.
 
 ## Feedback
 We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of Kibana. Let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers on Kibana by either emailing us at `accessibility@elastic.co` or opening [an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/new?labels=Project%3AAccessibility&template=Accessibility.md&title=%28Accessibility%29).
 
 ## Technical specifications
+
 Accessibility of Kibana relies on the following technologies to work with your web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:
 
 * HTML
 * CSS
 * JavaScript
 * WAI-ARIA
 
+## Testing Tools and Approach
+
+We use a combination of manual and automated testing methods across the development lifecycle, including:
+- NVDA (screen reader)
+- VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
+- Manual keyboard navigation testing
+- High contrast mode (native OS)
+- Axe-core browser plugin
+- Chrome accessibility tree inspection
+- WAVE evaluation tool
+- Browser-based zoom and reflow testing
+
+Accessibility testing is integrated into:
+- Design reviews
+- Pre-release accessibility quality assurance checks
+- Quarterly post-release audits
+
+## Accessibility Audit Schedule (FY26)
+This section outlines our accessibility schedule for the 2026 fiscal year. We initiated audits for WCAG 2.2 Level A compliance, addressing baseline accessibility requirements such as text alternatives, keyboard navigation, and basic ARIA support. In the latter part of the year, we will conduct audits for WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance, which includes additional requirements such as color contrast ratios, focus visibility, and error identification. In the following table, completed audit cycles are marked with a check.
+
+| Quarter   | Timeline         | Audit Items |
+|-----------|------------------|-------------|
+| **Q1 FY26** | By July 2025     | - {icon}`checkCircle` Cloud Console (Serverless + Stateful)<br>- {icon}`checkCircle` Observability Solution (Serverless + Stateful)<br>- {icon}`checkCircle` Security Solution (Serverless + Stateful) |
+| **Q2 FY26** | By October 2025  | - Search Solution (Serverless + Stateful)<br>- Platform A & AA |
+| **Q3 FY26** | By January 2026  | - Search Solution (AA)<br>- Security Solution (AA)<br>- Observability Solution (AA) |
+| **Q4 FY26** | By April 2026    | - Cloud Console (AA) |
+
+## Accessibility Conformance Reports (VPATs)
+
+VPATs and Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) are available for:
+- Platform
+- Observability Solution
+- Security Solution
+- Search Solution
+
+To request a report, please email: accessibility@elastic.co
+
 ## Limitations and alternatives
-Despite our best efforts to ensure accessibility of Kibana, there are some limitations. [Open an issue on GitHub](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/new?labels=Project%3AAccessibility&template=Accessibility.md&title=%28Accessibility%29) if you observe an issue not in this list.
 
-Known limitations are in the following areas:
+Despite our best efforts, some accessibility limitations remain. We are actively tracking and addressing the following areas:
+- Charts – Accessible charting is in [progress](https://github.com/elastic/elastic-charts/issues/300).
+- Maps – May present challenges for [assistive technologies](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/57271).
+- Tables – Most tables use standard HTML, but row headers and captions are inconsistently implemented. Improvements are underway via new accessible components.
 
-* **Charts**: We have a clear plan for the first steps of making charts accessible. We’ve opened this [Charts accessibility ticket on GitHub](https://github.com/elastic/elastic-charts/issues/300) for tracking our progress.
-* **Maps**: Maps might pose difficulties to users with vision disabilities. We welcome your input on making our maps accessible. Go to the [Maps accessibility ticket on GitHub](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/57271) to join the discussion and view our plans.
-* **Tables**: Although generally accessible and marked-up as standard HTML tables with column headers, tables rarely make use of row headers and have poor captions. You will see incremental improvements as various applications adopt a new accessible component.
-* **Color contrast**: Modern Kibana interfaces generally do not have color contrast issues. However, older code might fall below the recommended contrast levels. As we continue to update our code, this issue will phase out naturally.
+To view and track accessibility issues, visit our [GitHub Project: Accessibility issues](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues?q=label%3AProject%3AAccessibility).
 
-To see individual tickets, view our [GitHub issues with label "`Project:Accessibility`"](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+sort%3Aupdated-desc+label%3AProject%3AAccessibility).
+## Progress and Continuous Improvement
+Between 2024 and 2025, Elastic identified over [2,500 accessibility issues across its products](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues?q=label%3AProject%3AAccessibility). More than 1,800 issues have been triaged and resolved, thanks to close collaboration between accessibility engineers and product development teams. As part of our phased approach to accessibility compliance, we are currently auditing and remediating all outstanding WCAG 2.2 Level A issues. Once this baseline level is achieved, we will begin the audit and remediation process for WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformance. 
 
-## Assessment approach
-Elastic assesses the accessibility of Kibana with the following approaches:
+Accessibility is part of our product lifecycle, from early design through post-release, and our teams are constantly learning and adapting to evolving standards.
 
-* **Self-evaluation**: Our employees are familiar with accessibility standards and review new designs and implemented features to confirm that they are accessible.
-* **External evaluation**: We engage external contractors to help us conduct an independent assessment and generate a formal VPAT. Email `accessibility@elastic.co` if you’d like a copy.
-* **Automated evaluation**: We are starting to run [axe](https://www.deque.com/axe/) on every page. See our current progress in the [automated testing GitHub issue](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/51456).
+## Feedback
 
-Manual testing largely focuses on screen reader support and is done on:
+We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our products. If you encounter any accessibility barriers, please contact us at: accessibility@elastic.co
 
-* VoiceOver on MacOS with Safari, Chrome and Edge
-* NVDA on Windows with Chrome and Firefox
