Gallery blocks: Captions and alt tags

After completing accessibility reviews on several Rise courses, I noticed an issue with the gallery blocks. The courses were using the three column grid and included captions for each image. Since we didn't need to describe the image for those who are visually impaired, a null alt tag was included for each image.

However, this resulted in the whole block being skipped over - even the captions. I'm guessing the null alt tag is dictating this behaviour.

So, what did I do? I drafted a sample course with many configurations of this block to hear how each behaved with JAWS. Well, the results were less than ideal.

In order to hear the captions, text must also be included in the alt tag. This makes the block more cumbersome to navigate than it needs to be in our situation. Also, when captions and alt tags are included, text is read a total of 3 times for each image.

I suppose I could choose something else for the alt tag that is shorter, but that defeats the purpose of being able to use the null alt tag.

It would be great if this block worked regardless of what's included (or not included - null) in the alt tag field.