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Level Up Your Digital Content Accessibility:

Navigating the New DOJ Title II Changes

Online Teaching Academy

onlinelearning@niagaracc.suny.edu

SUNY Niagara Online Teaching Academy (Blog)

Presentation: https://tinyurl.com/yp84fmsn

Meeting the Needs of All Our Students!

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Campus Wide Initiative

SUNY Electronic & Information Technology EIT Accessibility

Digital

Content

Accessibility

Library

Accessibility

Classroom

Accessibility

Web

Accessibility

Procurement

Accessibility

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Changes to Accessibility Standards

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published the final rule to Title II of the ADA in June 2024. This rule mandates state and local government entities to make their web content and mobile applications accessible to people with disabilities by following WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

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The accessibility standards states that all websites and mobile apps, including third-party platforms (i.e. Brightspace) and social media channels, must meet these standards by April of 2026.

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What This Means to Us?

  • Changing from Reactive to Proactive!

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  • Creating an inclusive environment where all students’ needs are met from the outset, eliminating the need for individual accommodations.

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  • Make sure content provided to students is accessible.

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  • Check publisher content to make sure it is accessible.

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POUR

These four principles, often referred to as POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust), are fundamental to creating accessible and inclusive web experiences for everyone.

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POUR (Definicious)

  • Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in ways users can sense (e.g., text alternatives for images, captions for videos, sufficient color contrast).
  • Operable: All interface elements must be usable by everyone, including those navigating by keyboard or assistive technology.
  • Understandable: Content and navigation must be clear and predictable, with instructions and error messages that are easy to comprehend.
  • Robust: Content must work reliably with current and future technologies, including assistive devices.

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Common Issues in Documents/Pages

Documents:

  • Using heading styles in documents

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Additional Issues on

Pages /Documents

  • Images & Non-Text Items:
    • All images should have descriptive Alt Text
  • Font sizes to small
  • Contrast Issues
  • Images/Non-Text Items have descriptive text
  • Multiple Tabs used to line up text
  • Multiple hard returns (Enter) to separate text/pages

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Common Issues to Address in Videos

Videos:

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  • Providing “Accurate” closed captions
    • Downloadable / searchable transcript

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  • Include descriptions for Non-Text Elements in Videos
    • Example: You can hear a car crash off screen

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Common Issues in PowerPoints

PowerPoint:

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  • Use slide layouts
  • No slides should have the same title
  • Images & Non-Text Items:
  • All images should have descriptive Alt Text
  • Reading order
  • Students don’t have the software to view

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Publisher Materials/eBooks

  • Publisher Materials Must be Checked
    • Publisher content, websites, or other resources need to be ADA compliant
    • Examples:
      • Uncaptioned videos
      • PowerPoints that are not ADA compliant
      • Platforms that are not keyboard accessible

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  • Faculty Should Contact Publisher for �Accessibility Issues with Their Products

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  • Note: If resources provided by the publisher are not 100% accessible faculty must refrain from using them. E.g., PowerPoints

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New Responsibility for Students

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  • Content Shared Between Students is Accessible
    • Posts in discussions
    • Shared in groups
    • etc.

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  • Examples:
    • Videos shared must have closed �captions
    • Images require ALT Text
    • Links must user descriptive text

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Tools to Help!

SUNY Sponsored Training - Deque University

Ally by Anthology provides resources

SUNY Niagara Creating Accessible Content

SUNY OTTER - Summer Sessions Focus is on Accessibility

Diigo DOJ Resources

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Resources

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Questions