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Compliance with new Title 2 ADA requirements - Digital Accessibility - Effective date 4/24/2026

  • 1.  Compliance with new Title 2 ADA requirements - Digital Accessibility - Effective date 4/24/2026

    Posted 14 hours ago

    The new Digital Accessibility requirements under Title 2 of the ADA goes into effect on April 24, 2026.  Here is information I have found that might be useful: https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/olc-insights/2025/09/federal-digital-a11y-requirements/#:~:text=Although%20the%20rule%20directly%20applies,Preparing%20Your%20Institution%20for%20Compliance.  

    Below is a brief outline of requirements for higher education: Not sure what discussions have been happening within AAMC on this topic.

    Although the rule directly applies to public institutions, many private colleges and universities receiving federal funds under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act will be held to similar standards-making widespread adoption essential across higher ed.

    What's Required Under the New Regulations?

    The new DOJ regulations mandate that digital content be accessible according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA-a globally recognized standard for accessibility.

    Required areas include:

    • Public websites (e.g., admissions, academic departments)
    • Mobile apps (e.g. services like registration or library access)
    • Online learning platforms (e.g. learning management systems)
    • Course content (e.g. syllabi, videos, lecture slides, PDFs)
    • Student services portals (e.g., registration, advising, career services)
    • Internal systems used by staff, faculty, and students (e.g., intranet, employee portals)

    Accessibility requirements include:

    • Alternative text for images
    • Captioning and transcripts for multimedia
    • Keyboard navigability
    • Logical heading structures
    • Color contrast and readability
    • Accessible document formatting (e.g., PDFs, Word docs)


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    Mary Gurney
    Professor
    Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus
    mgurney@midwestern.edu
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