ADA Title II

On April 8, 2024 The U.S. Department of Justice updated regulations for Title II under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under this new rule, all services, programs, and activities offered by State and local government entities to the public via web content and mobile apps must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The ADA has released a Fact Sheet for the Title II regulations, which outlines the key changes and expectations under the new rule.

Under ADA Title II, individuals with disabilities must be able to access programs and activities in a manner that is as effective as that provided to others.

Under the DOJ’s Title II regulations, all websites and digital content must adhere to technical standards specified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026. Though the legal benchmark for ADA Title II is WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, SUNY Broome aims for WCAG 2.2 AA compliance to meet both federal and state regulations.

It is the responsibility of SUNY Broome to ensure all web and app content, information, and experiences available on the web are fully compliant. This includes both public-facing and internal (Employee-only) content, software, and digital platforms.

What Needs to be Compliant

  • PDFs, Word docs, Powerpoints, Excel, Google Docs, etc.
  • Videos
  • Webpages, App Content, and Navigation (Including 3rd Party Websites)
  • Online Documents
  • Images/graphs/charts
  • Audio only – Visual only content
  • Online exams/quizzes
  • Forms
  • Hyperlinks
  • Online learning management systems/Online Course Materials
  • Social Media posts/content
  • Any digital content distributed to students/employees/community

Exceptions

  • Archived web content (Needs to exist in designated “Archive” section)
  • Preexisting conventional electronic documents, unless they are currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in the public entity’s services, programs, or activities
  • Content posted by a third party (Ex: A news channel posts an article about SUNY Broome)
  • Individualized, password-protected or otherwise secured conventional electronic documents
  • Preexisting social media posts (Before April Deadline)

What Changed Under ADA Title II

Public institutions, including SUNY institutions, have long been required to provide accessible access to all programs and services. ADA Title II now enforces this at the federal level, and provides specific technical standards adhering to WCAG 2.1 AA, eliminating the ambiguity – and motivating a proactive approach to web accessibility – which was not done in the past.

Compliance Deadline

The deadline to ensure all digital content is ADA Title II compliant is April 24, 2026.