Colleagues,
Recent updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have strengthened accessibility guidelines related to web content and mobile applications. These guidelines are applicable to all website(s) and web or mobile applications, including but not limited to Brightspace, social media, digital content, video content, use of images, PDF files, spreadsheets, presentations, word-processing, and e-mails, as well as vendor procurement, library content, and third-party solutions. Essentially, any content that is created and shared electronically must be accessible to people with disabilities, ensuring that they have equal opportunity to benefit from this content.
It should be emphasized that the creators and curators of the various forms of content are responsible for ensuring their content is compliant with the accessibility guidelines. We are ALL responsible for this work.
The SUNY Brockport community is required to follow the guidelines laid out within the “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA by April of 2026. Failure to do so may result in complaints via the Department of Justice, lawsuits from advocacy groups, and fines.
This will require a significant amount of focus and effort in terms of awareness of the requirements, training to ensure compliance, testing of existing content, and remediation work. The good news is:
- A taskforce has been initiated and has begun work on providing a structured and pragmatic approach, including the prioritization of content and progress measurement as we move toward compliance with WCAG.
- We can leverage the work that the Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) accessibility team has been developing.
- There are various training resources available; see below.
- We have access to some tools that will highlight known issues, for example Ally within Brightspace.
This is the first of a series of communications that will provide updates on requirements, resources, guidance, and progress. In the meantime, I encourage you to make use of the training resources already available.
Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation and support as we work together to comply with these updated regulations and meet the needs of all of our community members.