The US Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this year issued a rule revising Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to require web and mobile app content to be accessible to people with disabilities. Title II applies to all state and local governments, which includes, among other entities, public schools, community colleges and public universities.
The rule, designed to ensure all digital services are ADA-compliant, clarifies the obligations of public education institutions to make their websites and mobile apps “readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,” including via the use of accessible text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, and electronic documents. This includes converting pictures and documents so they can be read with assistive technology for individuals with vision loss, adding audio description on videos and providing captions for all live and pre-recorded audio and video for individuals with hearing loss.
Although enforcement will not begin until 2026 at the earliest, many school leaders have already begun taking steps to ensure that their digital presence complies with the new regulations.
A recent Verbit webinar – “Navigating Title II: How universities are preparing for ADA enforcement” – focused on, among other things, how colleges and universities are enhancing digital accessibility and prepping for the rule. Panelists Leon McNaught, Director, Digital Accessibility and Equity, at California State University, Philip Voorhees, IT Accessibility Manager, at Penn State University and Caitlin Manning O’Donnell, Senior Director, ADA Compliance & ADA Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder, shared insights on implementing accessibility measures, including proactive procurement processes and staff and faculty training.
Hosted by Verbit’s Spencer Kirshner, the webinar discussed the importance of having a clear accessibility framework, engaging stakeholders across campus, and focusing on high-impact areas when resources are limited. The speakers noted that while 100% accessibility by 2026 may not be achievable, institutions should demonstrate ongoing efforts and prioritization. They also highlighted the need for collaboration between schools’ disability services, digital accessibility offices and ADA compliance teams to ensure comprehensive coverage of accessibility needs.
View the “Navigating Title II” webinar on demand
An opportunity for increased access
Though the new Title II requirements have caused questions and concerns in some academic circles, the panel said the new rules should, instead, be looked at as a chance for schools to more fully focus on providing accessible solutions, prioritizing efforts and accelerating access plans.
“This is something that a lot of us in higher ed have actually been asking for from the Department of Justice,” Vorhees said. “We now have some defined guidelines as well as some defined guardrails to help us move in the direction we need to move, and specifically addressing digital accessibility.
“To me it is providing us an opportunity because, in reality, there isn’t any difference in our obligation – we still have the same obligation – we just now have some extra incentives and directives in meeting that obligation.”
Navigating Title II
The panel shared a few tips to help schools and departments navigate not only the new Title II rules but also financial constraints that might come along with introducing new accessibility solutions.
“You really need to look at your institutional capacity and get a framework in place, start the conversation, the culture awareness, letting people know why they have to do this,” said McNaught. “For example, if you’re maybe doing 1,300 purchases a year, I’m sure only a small portion of those are high impact. Focus your resources on the high-impact products.
The panel noted that looking first at the most popular courses and classes that routinely have the highest attendance is a good start. They noted school officials can reduce risk by addressing accessibility in those instances first and also give schools a target to measure and manage as they move forward.
“When you’re starting something like that, you really have to be realistic about where you’re going,” said McNaught. “And then you can build that consensus, you can get executive support, you can get additional funding. It doesn’t happen overnight. You do have to sort of shepherd it into existence.”
The panelists also said it’s important that school leaders don’t get caught up in the numbers and worry about trying to hit a specific percentage of accessible offerings right out of the gate.
“Don’t get tripped up on percentage of accessibility,” said McNaughton. “I mean, obviously, in a in a perfect world, 100% accessible by April 2026. But if you have a complaint after that deadline and OCR [Office for Civil Rights] comes in and says ‘what have you been doing to meet this obligation,’ they’re going to look at what you’ve been doing, you know, your prioritization – that’s really what you need to show.
“So don’t get tripped up. Don’t say, ‘oh, there’s no way we can do it – I’m just overwhelmed.’ Just focus on the procedures, the prioritizing. You’re looking at your institutional capacity, getting as many resources and awareness as you can and just get going and get on with it.”
Vorhees said: “The key to this conversation is do you have a plan? If you do, then you work through that, and you can measure your progress. Because if something does happen, DOE or DOJ are going to ask, ‘well, what have you been doing?’ And then you can demonstrate, ‘yeah, we have put a lot of good faith in towards dealing with this.’”
Institutional buying power
The panel noted that schools hold significant buying power and can use it effectively to advocate for accessible services from vendors. As institutions responsible for inclusive education, schools are uniquely positioned to require vendors to prioritize accessibility in the tools, software, and digital content they provide. By choosing vendors who meet accessibility standards, schools can ensure their students, staff, and communities benefit from equitable, usable resources, regardless of ability. This collective purchasing influence encourages vendors to implement features such as screen reader compatibility, captioning, and adaptive technology, pushing the industry towards more inclusive offerings. Schools that leverage this buying power help set higher accessibility standards across the educational sector, making a lasting impact on accessibility in education.
“A lot of institutions have a lot of power in where they’re making selections to utilize vendors, to buy software, to utilize different applications and to require that on the front end,” said Manning O’Donnell. “If you’re looking at a new contract, let’s take the steps at the front end to say to the vendor, ‘we’re only going to buy this for a whole institution if you’re making it fully accessible.’
“I’m encouraging folks to really think to those points at which you have that opportunity to be using your resources, using your institution’s big purchasing power for a lot of these softwares and demand that the software is accessible on the front end rather than looking for retrofits.”
Vorhees added: “When we’re talking about the process of identifying resources that we want to procure or adopt, we make sure that we do so in a fashion that makes sense with accessibility. Now, albeit not everything in the world is accessible yet, but there’s a lot of things that are moving in that direction. And accessibility is a moving target. We need to then develop and work our processes to support each other in being able to ask for these resources and get our vendors to cooperate.”
Engaging school leadership
As with any initiative, the panel said there needs to be agreement – and buy-in – from school leaders and institutional stakeholders on the best course of action to take and how to navigate the challenges.
“The culture and awareness is a huge piece,” said McNaught. “You have to make sure you have the faculty buy-in so [it’s important to] engage your faculty centers of excellence, those in executive leadership. And then, at the same time, you also have to look to external partners to help with capacity and bandwidth as you get these initiatives online. It does come back to just having a well-articulated framework, good processes, making sure that you engage your stakeholders.”
Kirschner added: “I think it is important to point out that…you don’t have to throw away the process that you’re currently using, but you may have to supplement it with something else. So, I don’t want you to think that ‘Hey, the way that we’re doing it is wrong or bad.’ It’s ‘Hey, we may have to find some additional resources, we may have to engage a third-party provider. If something is working, we don’t have to get rid of it – we can add on to it, we can supplement.’”
Trust Verbit’s accessibility experts
Creating inclusive learning experiences requires specialized expertise. Verbit’s team has the experience, knowledge and technologies, including live and pre-recorded captioning, transcription and audio description, to help. We’re trusted by a variety of colleges and universities, such as San Francisco State University, the University of Western Australia and Oregon State University, and others, to make classes and classrooms more inclusive.
Connect with us to learn more about how we can work together to enhance the accessibility of your campus.