University of California San Francisco
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Web Accessibility for Editors

On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a new rule on digital accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This rule requires the University’s web content, including academic course content, to be accessible starting on April 24, 2026.

Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments

Background

Public entities often use websites and mobile apps to provide services and programs, but if these aren’t designed with accessibility in mind, they can create barriers for people with disabilities. For instance, someone who is blind might rely on a screen reader to navigate a website. If the site doesn’t include alternative text to describe images, that person can’t access important information. The new rule is here to change that—it’s focused on making sure everyone, regardless of ability, has full and equal access to the services, programs, and activities offered by public entities through websites and mobile apps.

In short, public entities need to make sure their web content and mobile apps are accessible and easy to use for people with disabilities.
Technical Standard

Public entities need to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA to make their websites and mobile apps accessible. These standards ensure that all online content and mobile apps used for services, programs, or activities—or shared with the public—are designed to be usable for everyone, including people with disabilities.
Exceptions

Archive Web Content

Web content doesn’t need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards if it meets all four of these conditions:

  1. The content was created before the compliance deadline or is a reproduction of paper documents or physical media (like audiotapes, film negatives, or CD-ROMs) made before that date.
  2. The content is only being kept for reference, research, or record-keeping purposes.
  3. It’s stored in a special section of the website specifically for archived content.
  4. The content hasn’t been altered or updated since it was archived.

Example: A program offers a PDF version of its 2020-2021 academic calendar on its page. The calendar is only for reference, and its use is not required for students or faculty to complete their jobs or studies.

Preexisting conventional electronic documents

Some programs have tons of older documents, like PDFs, on their pages. Making these older files meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards can be tricky.

Usually, documents don’t need to meet these accessibility standards if they meet both of these conditions:

  1. The documents are in common formats like word processing files, presentations, PDFs, or spreadsheets.
  2. They were already available on the website or mobile app before the compliance deadline.

Example: This exception would likely apply to a PDF flyer for a event posted to the website in 2018.

When the exception doesn’t apply: If a document is actively being used to apply for, access, or participate in services, programs, or activities, it doesn’t qualify for the exception—even if it was posted before the compliance deadline.

Example: A PDF form created and posted in 2015 is used to sign up for an elective. The exception does not apply, and that document would usually need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards.

Individualized documents that are password-protected ​​​​​​

Programs sometimes use password-protected websites to share documents meant for specific individuals. Making all of these documents accessible immediately can be challenging, especially if there isn’t currently a person with a disability who needs access to them.

Documents don’t need to meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards if they meet all three of the following conditions:

  1. They’re in formats like word processing files, presentations, PDFs, or spreadsheets.
  2. The documents are specific to a particular person, property, or account.
  3. They’re password-protected or otherwise secured.

Documents uploaded to Box that are not individualized do not meet the requirements for this exception, and must be made accessible. 
Digital Accessibility Trainings and Resources

General Accessibility Resources

PDF Resources

PDF & Other Document Accessibility

PDFs come with several features designed to make documents more accessible to people with disabilities. The key is their ability to organize content in a logical order that’s separate from how the document looks or is laid out. This is done using logical structures and tagging.

With these features, applications such as screen readers can pull the content from the document and present it in a way that works for users with disabilities—by navigating through the structure hierarchy and displaying the contents of each part. That’s why it’s so important for PDF creators to ensure that all the information in their documents can be accessed through this structure hierarchy.

Most PDFs are not automatically accessible. Depending on how they're produced, there are a few ways to mitigate accessibility issues. The free PAVE Accessibility Checker can help identify and remedy some accessibility errors.

For those with Adobe access, they maintain a helpful PDF Accessibility Overview that details the various parts of an accessible PDF. Adobe Acrobat has a built-in accessibility checker tool that can help identify noncompliant parts of a document, and can usually help fix them too. 

The School of Medicine has contracted with a digital accessibility consultant to remediate documents. Teams are responsible for his fees (ranging from $10-25 per page, depending on complexity). Please contact Arego Mitchell and Kelly Kao for more information.