Communication Access Services and Vendors

Live Transcription (e.g. CART, Typewell, and Meaning-For-Meaning)

Live Captioning conveys the spoken word through on-screen text using speech-to-text software used by a trained stenographer in real-time.​ This service can be provided in-person or virtually during meetings, events, and classes. Live captioning is an accommodation that provides communication access for people with disabilities.

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) provides precise word-for-word translation on screen of what is spoken in real-time, including speaker pauses, and is delivered by a trained stenographer. This service can be provided in-person or virtually during meetings, events, and classes. CART is a type of live-captioning, and is an accommodation that provides communication access for people with disabilities.

​Meaning-for Meaning transcription (such as Typewell) conveys the speaker's overall intended meaning in real-time and is not precise word-for-word, and is provided by a trained stenographer. This service can be provided in-person or virtually for meetings, events, and classes. Meaning-for-Meaning is a type of live-captioning, and is an accommodation that provides communication access for people with disabilities.

Closed Captioning

Closed Captioning refers to on-screen captions that are added to recorded video content such as video tutorials, movies, recorded meetings or lectures, etc.

3Play Media is the primary vendor currently used by SBCTC and the ctc colleges for video captioning and audio description services.

Colleges and others also use Verbit.

Many virtual meeting and collaboration tools provide automated live captioning options, including Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. Sometimes the quality of these services will meet a person's access need, and additional services are not required. Other times, depending on a person's need, professional services such as CART will still be needed for equal access and full participation.

ASL (American Sign Language)

ASL refers to American Sign Language delivered by trained interpreters to provide communication access for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Some vendors in contract with SBCTC provide ASL in addition to captioning services.

Many colleges use on-site interpreting and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) services from ZP Better Together, formerly known as Purple Communications.

Language Interpreter and Translation Services

Language interpreter and translation services are not considered a disability-related accommodation or services under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

However, SBCTC and Washington’s community and technical colleges are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion of all people attending and working at our colleges. Below are resources for language translation services.

• Department of Enterprise Services (DES) State-wide Language Access Contracts
• Washington state K-12 Language Translation and Civil Rights

Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP)

DCMP maintains a useful tool called the Captioning Key, which provides guidelines and standards creating video captions.

DCMP Create is a new online tool which allows users to create captions, audio descriptions (AD), and American Sign Language (ASL) for videos. This new AI-assisted accessibility tool supports the production of captioning, audio description, and sign language interpretation entirely in a web browser.

If you would like to beta test the online accessibility tool, please visit:
createaccess.com/app/signup

Additionally, DCMP maintains a list of accessibility vendors that provide captioning and audio description services. You can see the list at Captioning Key - Accessibility Vendors

Free Tools

A number of tools exist on the web that provide captioning services for free or low-cost. Some tools are web-based, and others may require downloading software and come with certain limitations. The following is not an exhaustive list of resources and is for informational purposes only.

• CADET - Caption and Description Editing Tool - The National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM) has developed CADET. It is a free, downloadable caption-authoring software that enables anyone to produce high-quality caption files that are compatible with any media player that supports the display of captions.  
• Maestra - Generate live captions as you speak, free in your browser.
• 3 Free Tools to Caption Videos is an article published by Pope Tech in 2025.

Vendors

Contracts with these vendors include the Washington Institution of Public Higher Education (WIPHE) language. This means that colleges can purchase their own services from the suppliers listed below and take advantage of prices negotiated by the agency. You can view each contract and vendor information on the WIPHE website. If you have questions about the company or the contract, please contact Monica Olsson at: molsson@sbctc.edu or Abraham Rocha at: arocha@sbctc.edu