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Digital Accessibility & AI Task Group

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April 23, 2026

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Meghanne Freivald, Alfred University

Nicola Marae Allain, Empire State University

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Charge

SUNY campuses must comply with the changes to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by April 2026. This FACT2 Task Group will explore best practices for leveraging AI to support efforts to increase Digital Accessibility of course content and academic resources/ services. Building on the work of the previous Task Group on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning, this Task group will adapt the AI Tools rubric to include assessment of digital (AI) tools for supporting EIT accessibility.

Our Goals

• Identify use cases/ opportunities for AI to support faculty and campus efforts to improve accessibility of digital course content and ensure student access to academic resources and services.

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• Create materials to help faculty, campuses, and EIT committees prepare for and meet Title II digital accessibility requirements with the use of AI tools.

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Deliverables

• Research and identify AI tools that can help faculty and content creators ensure their digital content is accessible.

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• Develop criteria and a rubric to evaluate AI tools for assisting with digital accessibility.

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• Work within SUNY to establish a community of practice and opportunities to share our work.

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• AI Digital Accessibility Guide  - August 2026

AI for Accessibility Evaluation Instrument

• Co-Chairs: Ken Fujiuchi & Nathalie Zarisfi
• Develop criteria & rubric to evaluate AI tools for assisting with digital accessibility.
• Research AI tools that can help ensure that digital content is accessible.
• Conduct evaluations of AI tools in order to test and model use of the Evaluation instrument.
• Create a write-up about and including the Evaluation Instrument for a chapter of the Digital Accessibility through AI Guide.

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Evaluation Instrument Group Update

Completed

1. Created instrument to identify current evaluation rubrics in existence
• Analyzing: where are the gaps?
2. Created form to assess how AI tools can assist with accessibility
• Assessing function, what happens to data, can humans edit output
• Used for any tool with AI component (including Chat CPT, etc.), not just for teaching

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In Progress

1. Collecting data; curating list of tools for evaluation, fine-tuning form
2. Sub-groups evaluating existing rubrics and assessing tools that assist with accessibility

Case Studies & Community of Practice

• Co-Chairs: Cailyn Green & S. Lynn Lytle
• Collect and curate case studies which highlight AI being used to assess and remediate digital content for accessibility.
• Create a write-up including the case studies for a chapter of the Digital Accessibility through AI Guide.
• Support communication and built partnerships in order to sustain ongoing and future efforts.
• Establish a SUNY community of practice, to enable further innovation and collaboration around this work.

Case Studies & Community of Practice Group Update

Completed

1. Case Studies Assigned to group members; many already written: 

AI v. inclusive assignments, music accessibility, technical remediation, math/ science/ engineering, etc.

2. Seven case studies submitted

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In Progress

1. Working on introduction to chapter
2. 3-4 case studies being finalized
3. Developing community of practice - Viva Engage; collaborating with AI Fellows
4. Collecting emails of potential members; writing description of community

Digital Accessibility Information & Guide

• Co-Chairs: Angela Thering & Lindsay Bryde
• Curate information and resources based on best practices for accessibility and best practices for AI usage in course content.
• Create a narrative sharing information on digital accessibility, the ADA, Title II updates, WCAG standards, and best practices.
• Oversee the creation of the Digital Accessibility through AI Guide, with chapters contributed by the two other sub-groups (APA citations, publication-ready draft due by the end of May).

Digital Accessibility Information & Guide Update

Completed

1. Detailed outline created
2. Groups exploring: AI & digital accessibility resources, examples for prompting, opportunities & limitations, ethical applications of AI for digital accessibility while following legal regulations

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In Progress

1. Refining outlines; identifying/ narrowing specific areas of focus
2. Writing first drafts, due April 22
3. Adding sections on intro to accessibility, and more advanced AI & Accessibility (choose your own adventure)
4. Examples for remediation (info not included in case studies)

Questions/ Contact

Nicola Marae Allain, SUNY Empire State University

nicola.allain@sunyempire.edu

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Meghanne Freivald, Alfred University

freivald@alfred.edu

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