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Accessibility guide for Microsoft Teams Admins

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As the Microsoft Teams administrator for your organization, you can help make your Teams environment as inclusive and accessible as possible for all your users. Follow the guides and resources below to configure Microsoft Teams for optimal accessibility.

Note

Many of the accessibility options are turned on by default but you can check that they weren’t turned off by following the steps in this guide.

Turn on captions and transcription for meetings and calls

Create inclusive meetings and calls for users with disabilities so everyone can participate and contribute.

Turn on live captions

Live captions are real-time auto-generated text of what is said in a meeting or call. They appear a few lines at a time for a user who has turned them on, and aren’t saved.

Meetings

To turn on live captions for meetings for users:

  1. In the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Meetings, and then select Meeting policies.
  2. Select the policy you want to modify.
  3. Go to the Recording & transcription section.
  4. Switch Live captions to Off, but organizers and co-organizers can turn them on.
  5. Select Save.

Calls

To turn on real-time captions for calls for users:

  1. In the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Voice, and then select Calling policies.

  2. Select the policy you want to modify.

  3. Turn Real-time captions in Teams calls to On, then select Save.

Tip

Share the following link so users can learn how to turn on live captions during meetings.

Note

Live captions are available for meetings held in Commercial, and the U.S. Government Community Cloud (GCC) organizations.

Turn on transcription for calls

Transcription is auto-generated, recorded text of what was said in a call. When turned on, the transcript is available to users to review after a call has ended. This setting is off by default.

To turn on transcription for users:

  1. In the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Voice, and then select Calling policies.

  2. Select the policy you want to modify.

  3. Turn Transcription to On, then select Save.

Why captions and transcripts are important

Captions and transcripts are text versions of the words someone is speaking. They give people the option to see text in addition to, or instead of, audio alone. Captions also benefit people who are deaf or hard of hearing by giving additional information on top of what some users receive from the sign language interpreter or CART captioner they might work with.

Captions and transcription are helpful in a wide variety of situations, but can be especially helpful for:

  • People who are deaf or hard of hearing

  • People with learning disabilities

  • People who are in a noisy or distracted environment and need to review info shared after a meeting has ended

For more information, see the following links:

Give meeting access to sign language interpreters and CART (Communication Access Real-time Translation) captioners

Give sign language interpreters and CART (communication access real-time translation) captioners access to Microsoft Teams meetings so they can work more effectively together with users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Admit sign language interpreters and CART captioners to meetings

Sign language interpreters and CART captioners likely don't work for your organization, but you can invite them to Microsoft Teams meetings by by giving them guest access.

After guest access has been given, to admit sign language interpreters and CART captioners to meetings:

  1. In the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Meetings, and then select Meeting policies.

  2. Select the policy you want to modify.

  3. Go to the Meeting join & lobby section.

  4. Choose the option under Who can bypass the lobby that best fits your organization's compliance and security requirements. You can select one of the following options:

    • Everyone (not recommended)
    • People in my organization and guests (recommended)
    • People in my organization, trusted organizations, and guests
    • People in my organization
    • Only organizers and co-organizers
    • People who were invited

  5. Select Save.

Note

The setting Who can bypass the lobby doesn't apply to dial-in users.

Turn on IP video feed for your users

Give sign language interpreters the ability to share IP video feed during Microsoft Teams meetings so they can communicate with users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

To check if IP video feed is turned on:

  1. In the Teams admin center, go to Meetings, and then select Meeting policies.
  2. Select the policy you want to modify.
  3. Go to the Audio & video section.
  4. Check that IP video is turned On, then select Save.

Tip

Share the following links with users so they can adjust how they use Teams to maximize their ability to participate, focus, and collaborate in meetings:

Why it's important to include sign language interpreters and CART captioners

Some users might prefer to use CART captioners because they can be more accurate for specific jargon, accents, and more, than auto-generated captions.

Users whose primary communication method is sign language, require sign language interpretation, which requires a human interpreter to be present.

For more information, see Web Content Accessibility Guide (WCAG) 1.2.6.: Sign Language Interpretation.

Reduce distractions in meetings

Encourage user participation by turning on video filters to reduce distractions in Teams meetings.

Turn on video filters

Video filters help reduce distractions during meetings.

To turn on video filters:

  1. In the Teams admin center, go to Meetings, and then select Meeting policies.
  2. Select the policy you want to modify.
  3. Go to the Audio & video section.
  4. Choose the option under Participants can use video effects that best fits your organization's compliance and security requirements. Select one of the following options:
    • Only background blur
    • Only background blur and default images
    • All video effects
  5. Select Save.

Tip

Share the following links so users can adjust their Teams meeting preferences to reduce distractions:

Why it's helpful to reduce distractions

Some people in your organization might find it difficult to focus during video meetings and calls because of movement, light, and other distractions in participants' backgrounds. Using video filters helps users control distractions and participate fully.

Background effects can help people focus on the speaker rather than on the speaker's background. Microsoft Teams has a library of backgrounds, and users can also upload their own.

Background blur helps to improve visibility and focus when in meetings or calls because it reduces distractions in the background but keeps users in focus.

Video filters are helpful in a wide variety of situations, but can be especially helpful for:

  • People who are neurodiverse

  • People who are deaf or hard of hearing

For more information, see Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) 1.4.8.: Visual Presentation.

Improve participation in Microsoft Teams meetings

Encourage user participation with more options for control and flexibility by turning on Meeting chat, and messaging policies like chat editing, Immersive Reader, and emojis.

Turn on chat in meetings

Chat makes it easier for many users to ask questions or add info in Teams meetings.

To check if in-meeting chat is turned on:

  1. In the Teams admin center, go to Meetings, and then select Meeting policies.
  2. Select the policy you want to modify.
  3. Go to the Meeting engagement section.
  4. Choose the option under Meeting chat that best fits your organization's compliance and security requirements. You can select one of the following options:
    • On for everyone (recommended)
    • Off (not recommended)
    • On for everyone but anonymous users
  5. Select Save.

Use messaging policies for increased flexibility and control

Flexible chat options make it easier for many users to understand others’ messages, revise their own messages, and express themselves.

To check if these flexible chat options are turned on:

In the Microsoft Teams admin center:

  1. In the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Messaging policies.

  2. Select the policy you want to modify.

  3. Check that the following items are turned On:

    • Delete sent messages

    • Edit sent messages

    • Chat

    • Giphys in conversations

    • Memes in conversations

    • Stickers in conversations

    • URL previews

    • Translate messages

    • Immersive reader for messages

  4. Select Save.

Tip

Share the link how to write effective alt text with your organization to help users understand non-text messages shared in chat.

Why alternate participation options matter

Flexible chat options give people greater flexibility in how they use in-meeting chat content and more control over how they participate in a meeting with chat.

In-meeting chat gives people another way to participate in the meeting discussion. For some people with disabilities, chat might be preferable to voice or sign language as a way to contribute to meeting discussions.

Immersive Reader, a tool designed for people who have dyslexia and dysgraphia, helps make text easier to understand. It also includes in-line translation for people who prefer to communicate in a different language. Some of the key features of Immersive Reader are:

  • Adding the option to have content read aloud

  • Changing text size and background color

  • Breaking words into syllables

  • Increasing the space between letters

  • Highlighting one or more lines of text

  • Highlight parts of speech

Flexible chat options are helpful in a wide variety of situations, but can be especially helpful for:

  • People who are blind or have low vision

  • People who are neurodiverse (i.e. have dyslexia or dysgraphia)

For more information, see Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.1.1.: Text Alternatives.

Share resources with users to further accessibility awareness

There are additional steps users can take to improve their experience in accessibility. Share the links below with your organization and guest users.

Microsoft’s Disability Answer Desk has end-user guides to customize their experience to meet their accessibility needs:

Reference Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

WCAG are a series of international standards designed to improve web accessibility. The success criteria referenced in this guide include: