Code.org VPAT update

Code.org says its 2026 accessibility report shows a 20% jump in fully supported Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, 2.1 AA criteria across its platform. (support.code.org) The nonprofit said an independent review by Deque in spring 2026 found 24 of 50 WCAG criteria fully supported, 20 partially supported, 4 not applicable, and 2 not yet supported. Code.org published the results in a new Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT. (support.code.org) A VPAT is a standardized checklist vendors use to report how a product lines up with accessibility rules such as Section 508 and WCAG. The Information Technology Industry Council, which maintains the template, says a completed VPAT becomes an Accessibility Conformance Report used by buyers evaluating software. (itic.org) Code.org tied the update to school procurement and compliance work now facing districts. On its accessibility page, the group said districts often need third-party documentation ahead of the April 24, 2026 digital accessibility deadline under the United States Justice Department’s Americans with Disabilities Act Title II rule for larger state and local governments. (support.code.org, help.comptia.org) The gains Code.org highlighted were practical ones: more keyboard navigation, broader alt text coverage, and correct language tags for assistive technology across the platform. Those fixes help screen readers and keyboard-only users move through lessons and tools with fewer barriers. (support.code.org) Code.org did not say it fully meets WCAG 2.1 AA across every experience. It said computer-science products remain hard to make accessible in areas such as interactive visuals, animation, games, and block-based coding tools that depend on visual output. (support.code.org) That challenge shows up in the company’s earlier report too. In its 2024 VPAT, Code.org said it planned to spend 2025 making newer Labs more accessible after Deque identified problems including limited keyboard access in some scrollable regions and interface elements that assistive technology could not reliably interpret. (support.code.org) The update also covers products Code.org is pushing deeper into classrooms, including its artificial-intelligence teaching assistant for computer-science educators. Code.org says that tool helps teachers with lesson planning, differentiation, and automated project assessment, and cites one case study saying it cut a middle school teacher’s grading time by 50%. (code.org) For districts weighing free classroom tools against legal accessibility duties, the new VPAT gives a fresher snapshot than Code.org’s 2024 filing. For Code.org, it also puts a number on work the group says is still unfinished. (support.code.org, support.code.org)