University Petitions for Accessibility Exemption

- The new Department of Justice rule under Title II of the ADA does not have a formal proactive "petition for exemption" process; rather, defenses such as "undue financial and administrative burdens" or "fundamental alteration" are typically raised after an investigation or lawsuit has been initiated. - The defense of "undue financial burden" has historically been unsuccessful for universities in accessibility cases. This is because the assessment considers the entire institution's budget, not just the resources of a single department, making it a difficult standard to meet. - A university can claim a "fundamental alteration" exemption if a required modification would change the essential nature of a course or program, such as lowering academic standards or removing a requirement tied to accreditation. This claim requires a detailed, case-by-case assessment by a faculty committee and the university president. - The DOJ's final rule does include several specific, narrow exceptions to the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, including for archived web content created before the compliance date and not currently in use. Other exceptions cover pre-existing electronic documents not used for current programs and content posted by unaffiliated third parties. - Even if an exception for archived or pre-existing content applies, a university must still provide an accessible version of the information upon request from an individual with a disability. - In recent settlement agreements with institutions like the University of California, Berkeley, the DOJ has focused on enforcing compliance through corrective action plans rather than granting broad exemptions. These agreements mandate making all future and most existing online content accessible. - The compliance deadline for large public entities, including universities serving populations of 50,000 or more, is April 24, 2026, while smaller entities have until April 26, 2027.