You may be hearing a lot more about accessibility lately. Here are some answers to common questions you may have.
Are there laws about accessibility?
Yes! There are state and federal laws, as well as SUNY and °®¶¹´«Ã½ policies. Major laws are listed below:
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits any institution receiving federal funds to discriminate against people with disabilities. It demands that accommodations are made so those with disabilities can access anything as equally as someone without disabilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted in 1990, is a comprehensive federal non-discrimination and civil rights law. One of its requirements is that state and local governments must provide equal access to governments services, including education, for people with disabilities.
New York State Information Technology Policy NYS P08-005 establishes minimum accessibility requirements for web-based information and applications developed, procured, maintained or used by state entities, like SUNY.
What Has Changed with ADA Title II Web Accessibility Requirements?
In 2024, the Department of Justice published new rules for state and local government services, like state universities, in Title II of ADA. All digital content must meet minimum accessibility requirements to ensure equal access to people of all abilities. Digital content includes:
- electronic documents
- websites
- all online course content, including anything in Brightspace or any other LMS
- emails and attachments
- social media posts
- mobile apps
- everything shared electronically through any °®¶¹´«Ã½ platform
We need to be compliant by April 24, 2026 by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a set of accessibility recommendations published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). They have been accepted internationally as the standard for accessible web content, and are mentioned specifically as the minimum standard in the new ADA Title II rules and in the NYS Information Technology Policy.
The WCAG can be technical, and unless you are a web developer, you don’t need to know them all. But there are certain requirements all people who create documents, courses, emails, etc. need to know about and follow. Things to keep in mind are: heading structure, text readability, color contrast, descriptive links, and alternative formats for any multimedia (image descriptions, closed captions, etc.). These are not difficult to implement. See the to get started.
As an instructor/faculty, what do I need to know?
We can make nearly everything accessible – documents, presentations, videos, websites, pictures – right from the beginning! All digital content that you create or distribute to students, to the general public, or to employees must meet basic accessibility requirements. This includes all websites including Brightspace, all email communications, and all electronic documents. Things to keep in mind are: heading structure, text readability, color contrast, descriptive links, and alternative formats for any multimedia (image descriptions, closed captions, etc.). These are not difficult to implement. See the to get started.
Don’t accommodations through SSD already cover this?
Yes and no. SSD does make electronic materials accessible when there is an accommodation plan in place for a student. SSD will continue to reach out to you as necessary. But ALL electronic materials should meet the baseline accessibility standard set by WCAG, whether or not there is an accommodation plan in place. Please do your part in taking some simple steps to ensure YOUR content meets that baseline of accessibility. See the to get started.
As a staff member, what do I need to know?
Any digital content that you create or distribute to the general public, to students, or to employees must meet basic accessibility requirements. This includes all websites, email communications, and all electronic documents. Things to keep in mind are: heading structure, text readability, color contrast, descriptive links, and alternative formats for any multimedia (image descriptions, closed captions, etc.). These are not difficult to implement. See the to get started.
What resources are available to help me?
Knowledge Base
The contains articles and tips on common accessibility topics. New articles are still being added.
Training and Guidance
Over the coming year, training sessions, workshops, and office hours will be offered to answer questions and provide guidance. Please keep an eye out for Dateline announcements.
You can also keep track of events and book one-on-one guidance through the .
Use the to schedule a group training session.
for specific items you are working on or software you are using.
New Tools and Software
We are procuring accessibility integrations for Brightspace as well as professional PDF remediation services. As decisions are finalized, these resources will be shared with the campus community.
Existing Tools and Software
There are many tools to help you test and fix your materials for accessibility. The Knowledge Base has a , but here are a few highlights:
- Accessibility Checkers are already available in several popular apps, including:
- Read & Write enables anyone to have information on a screen read to them the same way a screen reader works. Check your own document accessibility with this tool available to all faculty, staff, and students through a °®¶¹´«Ã½ subscription.
- Sensus Access offers on-demand file conversion to more accessible alternate formats like audio, ebook, and tagged PDF.
- is a free installed app that allows you to use an eyedropper tool to test any color combination for the required contrast ratio.
- is a free tool to help you write alternative text and image descriptions. Upload your image, review, and copy the text.
- All videos uploaded to Panopto are automatically captioned. But you must these machine-generated captions for accuracy.
- All videos recorded in Zoom are automatically uploaded to your Panopto account. You can also remind people of the closed captioning options in the session and, as the host, can have a transcript generated.
Who should I contact for more information?
Reach out to accessibility@binghamton.edu with any additional questions not covered above.