Accessibility Information

Accessibility Statement

At Starfall, we are dedicated to providing every individual with equal opportunity to access the educational value of our website, regardless of their abilities. We strive to offer solutions that empower children, parents, educators, and schools, making learning enjoyable and inclusive for everyone.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. To uphold our commitment, all new children’s content produced by Starfall will adhere as closely as possible to WCAG 2.1 at the A/AA level starting on May 1, 2025.

As part of our commitment to achieving the highest level of accessibility, a third-party accessibility audit was conducted by WebAIM in 2024. The results of this audit inform our ongoing project to increase the conformance level of the remainder of our website to the WCAG 2.1 A/AA level.

While these updates are in progress, the Starfall Enhanced Accessible Index (EAI) provides a nearly fully supported accessible experience that meets WCAG 2.1, with complete attainment as a near-term goal.

Enhanced Accessible Index for Children

Despite our best efforts, some pages or activities may not be fully accessible at this time, are in the process of becoming so, or currently lack suitable technological solutions. We are actively working to provide conforming alternatives that offer equivalent educational value for those activities.

This statement was published on March 1, 2025. For the latest information on our accessibility updates, visit this page regularly or check the FAQ.

Please contact us with questions or recommendations regarding Starfall's accessibility features.

Enhanced Accessible Index (EAI)

The Enhanced Accessible Index is easy to navigate with custom-designed activities that are screen-reader compatible, keyboard accessible, and completely captioned. Settings can be adjusted through Accessibility Options. Additional features are documented below.

Caption Size and Video Play Speed

You may set caption size up to 200%, video speed up to 200%, and adjust other features, including a mute key on Accessibility Options.

Keyboard and Dual-Switch Devices

The Enhanced Accessible Index is designed to function with two keys on a keyboard or dual-switch device:

Tab key to navigate.
Enter key to select.

If a keyboard is used, Shift-Tab can navigate backward on most systems. Note that preferences must be adjusted on Mac X to enable tab key functionality on Safari and Firefox browsers.

Optional Keyboard Controls

In addition to the basic keyboard controls above, Starfall also provides optional interactive keyboard controls:

Space-bar to toggle stop/start *
Right/left arrow key to move forward/backward *

The action of the arrow keys depends on the activity. For example, in longer books they move a reader to the next/previous page. For individual songs, they move playback forward or backward 10 seconds.

* Screen readers may require bypass keys for these optional controls to function.

Conformance Status

Last updated: March 1, 2025

The Starfall website, including the EAI, conforms overall to the following WCAG 2.0/2.1 guidelines:

2.2 Enough Time: Users have enough time to read and use content.
2.3 Seizures: Content is not designed in a way known to cause seizures or physical reactions.
3.2 Predictable: Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
3.3 Input Assistance: The site helps users avoid and correct mistakes.
4.1 Compatible: Compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies, is maximized.

Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 3

In addition to the sitewide conformance areas, the Kindergarten and Grades 1,2,3 sections have the following additional features:

Some pages can be accessed by keyboard.
Some pages are screen reader compatible.
Some content has transcriptions and visual descriptions, found in the Transcripts & Visual Descriptions Index.
Some content is sufficiently high-contrast.
Songs and nursery rhymes have captions, which can be turned on or off using the toggle below.

Closed Captions

Grades 4, 5

In addition to the sitewide conformance areas, the Grades 4,5 section has the following additional features:

Most pages can be accessed by keyboard.
Some pages are screen reader compatible.
Most content is captioned.
Most content is sufficiently high-contrast.
Settings are available in some activities to:
- Control sounds and/or music
- Reduce motion
Keyboard Controls are available for most activities and can be found on the “Keyboard Controls” link in the Math and English sections.

Assessment Approach

For ongoing assessment of new content, Starfall uses industry-standard tools and procedures to determine conformance levels, including the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool, third-party auditing, and/or manual evaluation. This includes the use of assistive technology such as screen readers, keyboard navigation, and native browser zooming functionality.

We welcome your feedback

Please contact us with questions or recommendations regarding Starfall's accessibility features.