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Dive Brief:
- K-12 schools and colleges will get another year to comply with looming deadlines for a new web accessibility rule, under an interim final rule issued Monday by the U.S. Department of Justice.
- For K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions in counties or cities with populations of 50,000 or more, the original compliance date of April 24, 2026, is now extended to April 26, 2027. For school districts or colleges in counties or cities with fewer residents, the April 26, 2027, deadline is being pushed back to April 26, 2028.
- The Justice Department attributed the deadline extensions to concerns raised by organizations including some representing elementary and secondary education and higher education. Those groups said complying with the web accessibility rule is challenging and requires significant resources and staff time.
Dive Insight:
The web content accessibility rule, issued in 2024 under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, mandates that all state and local government entities — including public school systems and colleges — verify that their web content is accessible for people with vision, hearing, cognitive and manual dexterity disabilities. This content covers websites, mobile apps, social media and digital textbooks.
Specifically, the DOJ rule requires public entities such as school districts to use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1, Level AA as the technical standard for compliance.
According to a 2025 survey of school districts by the National School Public Relations Association and Sogolytics, a survey and experience management platform, only 14% of respondents said their districts had completed or nearly completed updates to ensure digital platforms and their content are accessible in compliance with the rule. About 229 NSPRA members responded to the survey.
Several organizations expressed relief over the deadline extensions.
“This action demonstrates a clear commitment to listening to schools, communities, and the ed tech innovators who support them,” said Sara Kloek, vice president of education and youth policy at the Software & Information Industry Association, in a Monday statement.
“By acknowledging the significant fiscal and administrative impact of the 2024 rule, the Department of Justice is providing the necessary breathing room to ensure that digital accessibility is implemented effectively and sustainably across our nation’s classrooms,” Kloek added.
But disappointment came from some in the disability advocacy community.
“State and local governments have known since at least the Obama administration that accessible websites were not optional, they were coming,” said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, in a Monday statement.
“Years of notice have not been enough, and now the Department is rewarding inaction with more time, while disabled people continue to be shut out of the digital systems that act as gateways to government information, programs, and services they depend on.”
AAPD’s statement also said that it commends the state and local governments that are working to comply with the rule on the original timelines and encourages all government entities to prioritize digital accessibility.
The Justice Department suggested in the interim final rule that the extensions could benefit people with disabilities and disability advocacy groups because it “replaces the potential for wasted time and money in litigation” with the opportunity for government entities to comply with the new requirements.
DOJ is providing an opportunity for post-publication public comments, and that deadline is June 22. The agency also noted that it may explore future rulemaking processes regarding the substantive requirements of the 2024 final rule.
