Digital Accessibility

2026 Updated Department of Justice Standards

Purdue University is committed to ensuring that all instructional materials and digital content are accessible to every student. In April 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a revised ruling under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), requiring that all student-facing web and digital content be accessible. The new standards are designed to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from participating in, or denied the benefits of, services, programs, and activities of public entities. Purdue must comply with these requirements by April 24, 2026. 

This change requires that all state and local government entities, including public universities, ensure that digital content, like web content, applications, and mobile applications, are accessible for people with disabilities, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard.

For more information on the law, please review this Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments.

The standards are organized around the following four core principles, which lay the foundation necessary for anyone to access and use web content: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust; forming the acronym “POUR.” Anyone who wants to use the web must have content that is:

1. Perceivable – Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
   • This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can’t be invisible to all of their senses). This can be accomplished by:
     • Providing text alternatives for non-text content, such as alt text for images.
     • Providing captions for video and audio content so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can access the information.
     • Using sufficient color contrast to ensure text is readable for users with low vision or color blindness.
2. Operable – User interface components and navigation must be operable.
   • This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform). This includes:
     • Making all functionality accessible via keyboard alone, without a mouse.
     • Giving users enough time to read and use content that has time limits.
     • Designing content that does not cause seizures, for example by avoiding rapid flashing.
3. Understandable – Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
   • This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding). This means:
     • Making content readable and predictable.
     • Using consistent navigation across a website or application.
     • Providing input assistance to help users avoid and correct mistakes on forms.
4. Robust – Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
   • This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible). This can be acheived by using:
     • Valid code that follows web standards.
     • Proper markup languages that allow assistive technologies to parse and interact with the content correctly.

If any of these are not true, users with disabilities will not be able to use the web.

Per these new regulations:

• Academic course content is no longer an exception to the rule.
  • If you are an instructor, all web and mobile content delivered in academic courses must be made accessible at the start of and throughout the term.
  • This includes, but is not limited to, documents, videos, presentations used for a course – including materials available on Brightspace.
• Third Party Vendors are no longer an exception to the rule.
  • All web and mobile content delivered by third parties due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements must be accessible.
• Captioning on all videos will be required.

There are many general usability guidelines that make content more usable by all people, including those with disabilities. These new standards address problems particular to people with disabilities. This includes issues that block access or interfere with access to the web more severely for people with disabilities.

What Purdue Is Doing to Prepare

This new ADA Title II rule means that digital accessibility is now a clear, legal requirement, not just a best practice. These changes will help to make all Purdue-created and -hosted public facing digital content accessible for everyone. These new standards impact not just IT departments, but every faculty member and staff creator who produces or manages digital content. If you are responsible for creating and/or posting content on any university-related webpage or application, you will need to make content accessible before it is posted or uploaded as well as make accessible any existing online content still in use. This will affect all units and functions of the University, including academic, administrative, research, services, and programs.

In addition to website and application content, this requirement also applies to all digital technologies and digitally provided content used in courses. If you are an instructor, you will need to make accessible any digital content (documents, videos, presentations, etc.) used for your course – including materials available on Brightspace.

To support this effort, a project team representing all Purdue campuses has been established to lead a systemwide initiative focused on meeting new ADA requirements for instructors. This initiative includes a range of support strategies such as tailored online resources, hands-on workshops, and Zoom drop-in sessions. When available, instructors can complete a self-paced Brightspace course. 

• Read the entire announcement here: Purdue Launches Initiative to Support Instructors to Prepare for New Department of Justice Digital Accessibility Standards

To further support this effort, Purdue is introducing two key resources in November 2025 that will be available to instructors across all campuses—West Lafayette and Indianapolis, Northwest, Fort Wayne, and Global: ADA Title II Drop-In Sessions and ADA Title II Workshops. Read this article for the full details on these resources: Purdue’s First Round of Instructor Support for ADA Compliance Begins in November.

Read November’s announcement: Instructors: Take Advantage of Upcoming Instructional Materials ADA Support Tools.

Read December’s announcement: Purdue Expands ADA Title II Support with New Brightspace Asynchronous Course, Updated Accessibility Resources

ADA Title II Compliance FAQ’s