Digital Accessibility: Time to Level Up

Michigan schools are entering a new era of digital accessibility. The Department of Justice recently issued a final rule (Rule) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) setting technical accessibility standards for school websites and mobile applications. Understanding the Rule’s requirements is the first step toward compliance.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Generally, the Rule requires web content and mobile apps provided or made available by a public entity (including schools), whether directly or through contractual licensing or other arrangements, to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

The Rule incorporates by reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1), which are designed to ensure that digital content is accessible to individuals with a range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. The Rule broadly applies to digital content, including materials such as text, images, audio, video, animations, controls, and electronic documents, as well as software applications designed for use on smartphones and tablets.

Accessibility is rated based on three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA (level A being the least accessible, and level AAA being the most accessible). The Rule requires public entities to comply with Levels A and AA.

For example, WCAG 2.1 outlines the following levels of conformance for time-based media (e.g., videos, webinars, livestreams):

• Level A: Captions must be provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media.
• Level AA: Captions must be provided for all live audio content in synchronized media.
• Level AAA: Sign language interpretation must be provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media.

Based on these conformance levels, schools must provide captions for all prerecorded and live audio content in synchronized media. Schools are not, however, required to provide sign language interpretation for prerecorded audio content.

Exempt Content

The Rule exempts five categories of digital content from the accessibility standards:

1. Archived Web Content that: (a) was created, or that reproduces paper documents or physical media created, before the compliance date (defined below); (b) is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping; (c) is not altered or updated after archiving; and (d) is organized and stored in a dedicated area identified as “archived.”
2. Preexisting Conventional Electronic Documents (CEDs), which include PDFs, word processor files, presentations, and spreadsheets made available on a school’s website or mobile app before the compliance date, so long as the CED is not currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in school services, programs, or activities.
3. Third Party Content posted by an outside party, unless the content is posted by the third party on behalf of the school through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements.
4. Individualized, Password-Protected, or Secured CEDs that are (a) about a specific individual, their property, or their account and (b) password-protected or otherwise secured.
5. Preexisting Social Media Posts posted before the compliance date.

Compliance Dates

Unless a school can demonstrate that compliance with the Rule would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of a service, program, or activity, or an undue financial or administrative burden, the school must meet one of the following timeframes for compliance, whichever is applicable based on its total population:

• Schools with a total community population of 50,000 or more must ensure their web content and mobile apps meet the above requirements by April 24, 2026.
• Schools with a total community population of less than 50,000 must ensure their web content and mobile apps comply by April 26, 2027.

A school’s total population is determined by using the most recent available data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which can be: (1) the decennial Census, (2) the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for local districts, or (3) if neither source provides an estimate, by combining the Census population of the governments that the school serves.

Implementation

For some schools, the compliance date is just around the corner; for other schools, there is still a year to prepare. Either way, school officials should start planning for implementation, which may require establishing a digital accessibility team, conducting an internal audit of web content and mobile apps, and reviewing vendor contracts. Failure to comply could result in an Office for Civil Rights complaint, deferral of federal financial assistance, or a lawsuit.

As an initial step, school officials may consider identifying the person(s) a student, parent, or community member can contact if they encounter a disability-related barrier to accessing the school’s web content or mobile apps. Although not required by the Rule, this small step can help mitigate risk by providing a clear and practical mechanism to resolve accessibility issues early.

More information on implementing the Rule can be found on the ADA website. Please contact Kelly Bowman at kbowman@thrunlaw.com or (517) 374-8831 with any questions about the Rule’s requirements.