coe-staff: Update on accessibility requirement timelines

[Emily Tanner-Smith]

Dear COE Community,
I am writing to provide an update on our UO digital accessibility efforts. As you may have heard, the Department of Justice has delayed the timeline for universities to meet Title II compliance from April 24, 2026 to April 26, 2027. We have already made great progress, and will continue that momentum, knowing that we now have more time to deal with remediation of older materials. Please see below for more information:

Key updates and next steps

  *   Diligent work continues towards compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II rule<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/guidelines/federalrules>, which requires accessibility in web-based content produced by public universities.
  *   While we have more time to meet Title II compliance requirements following the Department of Justice (DOJ) interim rule shifting the April 24, 2026, deadline to April 26, 2027, other federal requirements have not shifted, and our sense of urgency has not changed, nor our commitment to accessibility standards.
  *   Continue working with your unit leaders and colleagues on remediation efforts and to ensure that new materials meet requirements.

Guidelines for action

  *   All employees, including faculty, are encouraged to review digital accessibility resources<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/> and take the Digital Content Accessibility Training<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/training/content>. Consider bookmarking the quick tips<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/guidelines/basics> page for easy reference.
  *   Ensuring accessibility of newly created content is critical. Produce new content that meets standards and avoid adding to remediation workloads.
  *   Employees should continue to take prompt action to remediate all accessibility violations on their sites, in their courses, and in their other digital materials using the general accessibility prioritization guidance<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/assessment/prioritization>.
  *   Employees with responsibility for web updates, including content managers, web page creators, web administrators, and others who edit or modify web pages, should take the web accessibility training<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/training/web> right away. The training is designed to help ensure you have the knowledge and skill necessary to support web accessibility at the UO<https://click.contact.uoregon.edu/?qs=eyJkZWtJZCI6ImYwZDdlZWU0LWI4N2UtNGJkMi05YjVmLTE2NWY3ZDIwMjMxMyIsImRla1ZlcnNpb24iOjEsIml2IjoiZ0ZqVUtHWmVLNW04ZUpmY084UThiQT09IiwiY2lwaGVyVGV4dCI6Imt3Tm1VVHlWRmJOOWtldXFhdVhVQVFoVTczcWwzWk5veEowMTVXOFg5bjZSbkVzYUpZcFBuOGNnemJNVVlSaHJyTzQrWGZqc0NkUHQwRkNxNnZaakk2M0xZLzZBV05Rb1psNHJtYng0bDl3N3hEeHMiLCJhdXRoVGFnIjoiK093SjArM1FVS3JxOW1NanJjdGovZz09In0%3D>.

Support and resources

  *   The Teaching and Engagement Program and UO Online will continue to offer drop-in support hours for instructors<https://calendar.uoregon.edu/event/digital-accessibility-teaching-support-hours-drop-in-8852> seeking to make their teaching materials accessible. Accessible syllabus templates are available on the Syllabus Essentials page<https://teaching.uoregon.edu/syllabus>.
  *   For communicators and other stewards of UO websites, the Web Accessibility Peer Support Community has drop-in hours available to those who have completed the web accessibility training<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/training/web>, and tools like Editoria11y and DubBot<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/assessment/tools> can help with content evaluation.
  *   Details about legal requirements, including changes to compliance timelines, can be found on UO's Federal Web Accessibility Regulations page<https://digitalaccessibility.uoregon.edu/guidelines/federalrules>.
  *   Contact the ADA/504 Coordinator at eoa at uoregon.edu<mailto:eoa at uoregon.edu> if you have questions about requirements or resources.

Thank you for your collaboration and continued partnership in making steady, practical progress toward digital accessibility.
Best wishes,
Emily

Emily Tanner-Smith | Dean, Thomson Professor (she/her)
University of Oregon | College of Education
230 HEDCO Education Building | Eugene, OR 97403-1215
https://education.uoregon.edu<https://education.uoregon.edu/> | https://hedcoinstitute.uoregon.edu/
[Logo for the University of Oregon's College of Education]<https://www.uoregon.edu/>

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