Breaking Down Walls

Imagine a student who relies on a screen reader to navigate their course or descriptive audio to better understand and follow video recordings. For that student, accessibility is a necessity. Thirty-five years ago, America made a commitment to that student when President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on a hot July 26, 1990, summer day.

That July day changed the lives of millions of Americans and continues to do so today for the 46.8 million Americans with disabilities. What started as a struggle for access to physical spaces continues to play out in the digital realm, but the goal remains the same: making sure that all people can fully participate in the richness of life.

In June 2024, the Department of Justice released new Title II regulations meant to update the regulations associated with the ADA to address digital media. Those regulations require public entities to comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA standards for all digital content, with very limited exceptions. WCET has written extensively about these new regulations, beginning with our August 2, 2024, blog, Accessibility in the Spotlight: Department of Justice Regulations, where Judith Sebesta and I explain the new regulations along with the very limited exceptions to those regulations, and through other posts exploring accessibility. Most public institutions are expected to comply by April 24, 2026. Compliance, though, is about more than making a deadline; it’s about making sure students, faculty, staff, and the general public have equitable access to an institution’s digital resources.

Last year, we also surveyed digital learning and accessibility leaders on how the implementation of the new Title II regulations was going on their campuses. At that time, only 61% reported that their campus had begun to address compliance. Respondents indicated that they faced numerous challenges, chiefly a lack of staff and working with third-party vendors to ascertain their compliance. Only 56% reported that they were only in the initial planning phase.

WCET understands these challenges firsthand. As a part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), we are considered a public entity and must come into compliance by April 24, 2026. This means we are actively in the process of making our digital content accessible, including remediating PDFs, creating accurate webinar transcripts, and ensuring our videos have descriptive audio where necessary. As we progress in our own accessibility journey, we will continue to be transparent and share the lessons we are learning.

This month, we’ll be focusing much of our work on accessibility, providing you with resources you can use to address the new Title II regulations. These resources include:

• Blog posts, including a blog detailing WCET’s own accessibility journey,
• A member-only checklist to help you navigate the WCAG 2.1AA accessibility standards,
• A Closer Conversation, where you can share your own experiences and questions with other members,
• A pre-conference workshop at WCET 2025, “Cultivating Accessibility: Ensuring Compliance and Fostering Inclusion in Higher Education,” along with many other accessibility-focused keynotes and sessions (check out the program and register here),
• WCET’s MIX Accessibility Community, the WCET Accessibility Exchange (WAE), where members can ask questions and learn from their peers,
• WCET’s Accessibility Practice page, where you can find a compendium of our public and private accessibility resources.

I want to take us back to that July 1990 summer day. The signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act was a major civil rights victory, but the fight goes on. Now, many of our students, faculty, and staff face digital barriers such as unreadable documents and websites or videos without captions and descriptive audio.

As President George Herbert Walker Bush said on that July 1990 day, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” We must make sure that digital learning opens doors for all learners and not blocking access for some. It’s incumbent on all of us to make sure that every learner can access the promise of digital learning.

While we invite you to join us in eradicating digital barriers in September, let’s keep this work going each and every month. Whether it’s exploring our resources, joining the MIX community, or attending one of our events, together we can ensure that every learner has the opportunity to succeed. And, as always, WCET is here to help you as we collectively bring down those walls of exclusion. Please reach out and let us know how we can help.

* If you are interested in learning more about the passage of the ADA, check out PBS’s recent American Experience documentary, Change Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act.

At WCET, we believe in being transparent in how we use AI. Perplexity was used to review this blog post and offer suggestions for improvement.

This post was written by Van Davis

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