Department of Justice ADA Regulation for Web Content

While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has long been recognized as being applicable to digital content, the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is tasked with regulating title II part A, has only recently provided specific guidance defining ADA compliance for the web. This page will attempt to summarize the rule and its applicability to Kennesaw State University operations. 

Why now?

In the Executive Summary of the new rule, the DOJ admits that when the final rules regulating the ADA were being implemented in 1991, the web was "in its infancy" and "mobile apps did not exist." The DOJ first "articulated its interpretation that the ADA applies to websites of covered entities in 1996" and "reiterated this interpretation in many contexts."  

However, at the time, the definition of the ADA's requirements as applied to digital content was broad and did not state specific standards. Since then, feedback from public entities and people with disabilities consistently emphasized the need for specific compliance instruction. The DOJ has sought since 2003 to provide that and, in April of 2024, it published its latest regulation: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Agencies. You can access the full text of the rule or helpful fact sheet from ADA.gov below.

For more information about the specific regulations, what they mean, and who is impacted, continue reading below. 

What the Rule States

The helpful resource linked above from breaks down the rule into three Requirements, which are elaborated upon further in the accordion menus below.

Requirement One

鈥淭丑别 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA is the technical standard for state and local governments鈥� web content and mobile apps.鈥� 
  • Most institutions, such as USG, have already been using WCAG 2.1 as the standard for digital accessibility, including KSU.  So, from a practice perspective, staff and faculty who are already practicing accessibility will not need to change anything! Accessibility practices remain the same.
  • However, now that the DOJ  has mandated WCAG 2.1 AA as the minimum standard, nearly all public web content will have to meet this standard. 
Anyone at KSU who creates web content will need to learn how to ensure that the content, documents, and media they create meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards.  

Requirement Two

鈥淪tate and local governments鈥� web content usually needs to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA.鈥� 

Where the prior requirement stated what the standard is, here the DOJ is beginning to qualify what that standard applies to: most web content. They define what web content is and clarify the few  instances in which web content may not need to meet WCAG standards.

Web content is, broadly, anything that can be accessed through a web browser. This definition encompasses the KSU website, KSU broad email communications, social media, documents (HTML, Word, PDF, etc.), media, and, of course, all digital course content. This definition also includes academic content,  such as publisher applications, digital textbooks, etc.

Anyone at KSU who creates web content will need to learn how to ensure that the content, documents, or media they create meet WCAG standards.  

Requirement Three

鈥淪tate and local governments鈥� mobile apps usually need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA鈥� 
All applications made by or used by KSU must meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. This includes things like social media applications, publisher applications, etc.

Anyone at KSU who builds applications, purchases applications, or uses applications to communicate will need to ensure that the application itself meets WCAG standards and that any content, documents, or media created within the application meet WCAG standards.    

The Bottom Line

The primary language of the rule focuses on state and local governments; however, this rule is also applicable to public education, such as universities and school districts.  

The DOJ has provided the following dates for state and local governments to be compliant based on their relative size. For universities and school districts, the expectation will depend on the size of the area they serve, not the size of the institutions themselves.   

State and Local Government Size  Compliance Date 
0 to 49,999 persons April 26, 2027
Special District Governments April 26, 2027
50,000 or more persons April 24, 2026

To be compliant with the Department of Justice鈥� new rule, nearly all digital content at KSU will need to be compliant under these requirements by April 24, 2026.

So, what are the exceptions?  

The DOJ has stated that there are some exceptions to the new rule.  You can read about them more fully, including examples, on the .  We鈥檒l briefly summarize them here: 

  • Archived content. Content that was created prior to the passing of this rule and is only kept for reference, research, or recordkeeping, kept in a specific location and has not been changed.  
  • Old conventional docs.  Word processing documents, presentations, PDFs, or spreadsheet files created and placed on the website prior to the passing of this rule.  However, if students or the public need to access that content, this exception would not apply.
  • Content posted by a third party, where the third party is not contracted to KSU. This would be content that is not necessarily affiliated with KSU.
  • Individualized documents that are password protected.
  • Preexisting social media posts. 

I am affected by this policy. What should I do next?

Everyone who creates digital content at KSU should make it a habit to ensure that their documents, digital media, and online communications meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. Of course, this may seem intimidating to most people. WCAG is a very technical set of standards. 
 
For this reason, we recommend everyone study DLI鈥檚 Basic Four page. The Basic Four breaks down WCAG standards into simple practices that everyone can learn. DLI also offers resources on making documents and media accessible.  
 
DLI also offers training resources, including asynchronous workshops for faculty and for staff. The Accessible Teaching Essentials workshop focuses on digital teaching. The Accessible Web Essentials workshop is a little more broad, focusing on public-facing web content as well. 
 
If you have more questions about this rule or content accessibility, you can also contact DLI through the DLI Service Portal.  Use our  to get a consultation on digital accessibility. 

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