Systemwide Communicators and Marketers Fall Meeting

Web Accessibility Updates and Reminders

This is information and resources presented by Danial Bleile and Lesa McPeak during the Systemwide Communicators and Marketers Fall Meeting 2025.

Department of Justice (DOJ) & Accessibility Deadline

On April 24, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule concerning Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This final rule outlines specific obligations to ensure that web content and mobile applications (apps) are accessible to individuals with disabilities. For WSU, this means that all web content and mobile applications must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA by April 24, 2026.

The DOJ has provided a fact sheet and webinar as a summary of the final rule. The final rule does have exceptions for content to comply with accessibility requirements IF the digital content meets specific exceptions. The Factsheet and Webinar identify these exceptions and provide examples.

Definitions

• Web Content from Fact Sheet: “Web content” is defined as the information and experiences available on the web, like text, images, sound, videos, and documents.”
• Mobile App from Fact Sheet: Mobile apps are software applications that are downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Resources

• Fact Sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments
• Webinar: Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web & Mobile Application Accessibility Rule (video)
• Final Rule (pdf)
• Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Government Entities: A Small Entity Compliance Guide
• State and Local Governments: First Steps Toward Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule

Digital Accessibility Policy – UPPM 10.45

As of September 2025, the previous policy numbers—EP07 and BPPM 85.55—have been merged into a single policy/procedure: UPPM 10.45.

There are several updates to the policy, including

• definition of digital content,
  (UPPM includes additional digital content not mentioned in the DOJ’s Final Rule.)
• level of compliance that aligns with Washington State’s Digital Accessibility Standard.
• Digital Accessibility Committee,
  • responsible for developing resources, identifying tools, and disseminating information,
• roles and responsibilities for the website owner and accessibility proxy (see below),
• website accessibility audit, where Web Communication will review websites for accessibility compliance and provide remediation information to the website owner and accessibility proxy,
• Website Accessibility Checker or the Accessibility Dashboard (see below).

Accessibility Dashboard

The Accessibility Dashboard works for both WordPress and non-WordPress WSU websites. It generates reports based on a sitemap URL or a list of individual pages, identifying key accessibility issues. Reports run automatically each month, and you can also trigger one manually at any time.

Accessibility Roles

Working in conjunction with WSU WordPress User Roles, website accessibility roles allow designated people who have clear responsibilities and sufficient website access to check for and resolve any website accessibility issues quickly.

Content Inventory, Audit & Accessibility Deadline Trainings

Web Communication offers trainings during Open Lab on Fridays at 10 a.m. from September 2025 to January 2026 in preparation for the April 24, 2026 deadline.

Accessibility & Core Concepts

These training sessions on core concepts cover free accessibility testing tools, errors and alerts, when to remediate, remediation, and best practices. The training is about 15–20 minutes for each core concept. We are recording the videos and posting them on the corresponding core concept and accessibility web page.

There are two trainings left, one in December and the other in January. The link below sends you to the schedule for the Core Concepts and Accessibility training, which includes links to the information page and training video.

Content Inventory & Audit Training

The other half of these trainings is conducting a content inventory and audit of your website. The inventory gathers information, including target audience, analytics data, accessibility, and content details. The audit uses the inventory information to help evaluate and prioritize website updates and accessibility remediation.

There are three trainings left, one in December and two in January. The link below sends you to the schedule for the Content Inventory and Audit training, which includes links to the information page and training video.

DubBot

DubBot checks web content accessibility compliance on websites (not Learning Management Systems like Canvas). If your unit manages a website or multiple websites, investing in a professional accessibility checker like DubBot may be the best option.

Digital Accessibility

Accessibility Newsletter

Digital Accessibility’s monthly newsletter provides additional resources and upcoming training relevant to digital accessibility. Subscribe to the newsletter.

Questions?

If you have questions or need resources on a particular topic, please send us your Question.