A quick guide to ADA compliance for learning content
In the wake of the new rule, state colleges and universities are more closely examining their approaches to digital accessibility – and private institutions are following suit.
Whether or not your institution is publicly funded, ensuring ADA compliance across your digital assets should be an important goal. Bringing your digital experiences into compliance will help prevent accessibility-related lawsuits and create a more inclusive learning environment.
What is ADA compliance for digital assets?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to protect the equal rights of people with disabilities. When the ADA was signed into law, the Internet was still in its infancy, and the ADA’s digital accessibility provisions were limited to telecommunications relay services and public service announcements. There were no hard and fast standards for digital content, and the interpretation of the law’s application to the digital world was left to the courts.The DOJ’s ADA Title II rulemaking seeks to remedy this lack of clarity, at least in part. ADA Title II states that individuals with disabilities should not be excluded from programs, services, or activities sponsored by state and local governments, including employment, health care, and public education. The new ADA rule requires that websites and other digital products produced or hosted by Title II entities conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, providing a clear set of standards for digital content.
This provision mirrors similar guidelines laid out in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which covers federally funded agencies and many other entities receiving federal assistance, including some state postsecondary institutions. In effect, conformance with WCAG 2.1 puts an institution in a good position to comply with the ADA and other applicable accessibility laws.
What makes learning content ADA compliant?
The DOJ’s rule does not just apply to the websites of Title II entities; it also applies to many other types of digital media, including online learning content. Here are a few items to consider as you plan your learning content accessibility strategy.Color contrast
“Color contrast” refers to the way text stands out against its background and is expressed through a ratio. WCAG requires a minimum color contrast ratio of 3:1 for large text and 4.5:1 for normal text. For reference, black text on a white background offers maximum readability, with a contrast ratio of 21:1. Using sufficient color contrast is critical for ensuring content is perceivable for users who are blind or have low vision, as well as those with color blindness.Headings and subheadings
Headings and subheadings enhance the readability of learning content by helping readers quickly locate sections that contain the information they need. They’re especially beneficial for screen reader and keyboard navigation users, who can skip over less relevant content when navigating to important material. Remember to use heading tags in the proper order (<h1>,<h2>,<h3>, and so on) to ensure that your page is compatible with screen readers and keyboard navigation.Image alt text
To conform with WCAG and comply with the ADA, digital media creators must provide alternatives to visual content that users with blindness or low vision can understand. Images embedded in web pages or digital documents should always be accompanied by alt text, which refers to HTML tags that describe these images. Effective alt text is concise and accurate, and provides appropriate information based on an image’s context. For example, the alt text “Autumn foliage in Vermont” might be sufficient for an image used in a geography course, but not for a botany course where students are asked to identify tree species.Video captioning
Video captions should accurately reflect dialogue, relevant background sounds, and offscreen actions. While many video-sharing platforms automatically generate captions for uploaded videos, these captions are not always reliable and may omit non-dialogue sounds such as music or sound effects. If you use automatically generated captions, it’s crucial to review and edit these captions to ensure they are correct and comprehensive.Accurate captioning doesn’t just benefit students with disabilities—it’s also helpful for those who prefer studying in a quiet environment.