Deadline scramble for Title II
Local governments and campuses are racing to meet the DOJ’s April 2026 Title II accessibility deadline, with officials admitting they face a time crunch to make web content and apps accessible (minotdailynews.com). The University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation discussed the April 24, 2026 deadline with its Disability Equity Office and highlighted resources for faculty (x.com). Legal and academic posts note that under Title II liability sits with institutions rather than individual professors, increasing operational pressure on universities to document and act ( ).
State and local governments, public universities and community colleges have less than two weeks to meet the first federal deadline for making websites and mobile apps accessible under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ada.gov) The Department of Justice published the final rule on April 24, 2024, and it took effect on June 24, 2024. For public entities with populations of 50,000 or more, the compliance date is April 24, 2026; smaller governments and special districts generally have until April 26, 2027. (federalregister.gov, ecfr.gov) The rule covers the digital front door of government: websites, online forms, videos, PDFs, course pages and mobile apps. The Justice Department says that content must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.1, Level A and Level AA, a widely used technical standard for things like captions, keyboard navigation and readable document structure. (ada.gov, ecfr.gov) The pressure is showing up in local government. Ward County, North Dakota, told county commissioners this month that it is under a “time crunch” to comply, while the City of Minot and Minot Park District said their own deadlines fall in April 2027 because they are smaller entities under the rule. (minotdailynews.com) The same deadline is hitting large public universities on April 24. The University of Michigan said the updated Title II requirements apply to websites, course materials, videos, documents and social media posts, and its Center for Academic Innovation said faculty and staff are asking for help as the date approaches. (record.umich.edu, onlineteaching.umich.edu) Michigan has been rolling out support ahead of the deadline. Its Equity, Civil Rights and Title Nine Office published new guidance in late 2025, and the university calendar lists Digital Accessibility Office Hours with Information and Technology Services and the Disability Equity Office on April 24, 2026, and May 8, 2026. (record.umich.edu, events.umich.edu) The rule does not just apply to pages a government posts itself. Federal regulations say covered entities are responsible for web content and apps they provide or make available “directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements,” which pulls in vendor platforms and outsourced services as well. (ecfr.gov) The Justice Department also built in limited exceptions, including some archived web content, preexisting conventional electronic documents that are not currently used to apply for or access services, and third-party content that a public entity did not post, fund or control. Those carveouts are narrow enough that schools and governments still have to review large amounts of active content. (ada.gov) What institutions are racing to do now is less about one homepage than years of accumulated files. Michigan’s online teaching team said faculty are working through old documents, videos and course materials, while the Justice Department’s own “first steps” guide tells governments to inventory content, set priorities and assign responsibility before the deadline. (onlineteaching.umich.edu, ada.gov) By April 24, the biggest public entities are expected to have that digital cleanup in place, not just planned. For campuses and counties still sorting through websites, apps and document libraries, the calendar is now the hardest part. (ecfr.gov, minotdailynews.com)
