Relevant Laws & Policies

On this page, you'll review some of the most basic laws and local policies that ensure and promote accessibility. It's good to be familiar with the legal requirements of accessibility so that you understand your responsibilities and how to avoid an Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaint. 

You have a choice as to how to engage with the material in this lesson. Remember, the key concepts are always addressed in the text. If you need more info or learn by watching, the videos and resources are great supplements.

• Read About It
• Watch a Demo / Video
• Explore Resources on the Web

Federal Disability Civil Rights Laws - Employment

Title I of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act Links to an external site.) prohibits employers from discriminating against people with disabilities. This applies not only to employment but also recruitment, training, hiring processes, etc. 

In the case of an employee needing an accommodation, it is the responsibility of the employer to provide an applicant or employee with the necessary accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job. These accommodations often include modifying documents, providing assistive technology (hardware or software), physical adjustments, etc. 

Federal Disability Civil Rights Laws - 504 and Title II

Two disability-related civil rights laws govern the obligations of postsecondary institutions with respect to the accessibility of digital learning materials and online courses—Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the ADA. 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Links to an external site. (Section 504) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by institutions that receive federal funding.

Section 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service. 

Each Federal agency has its own set of section 504 regulations that apply to its own programs. Agencies that provide Federal financial assistance also have section 504 regulations covering entities that receive Federal aid. Requirements common to these regulations include reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities; program accessibility; effective communication with people who have hearing or vision disabilities; and accessible new construction and alterations. Each agency is responsible for enforcing its own regulations. Section 504 may also be enforced through private lawsuits. It is not necessary to file a complaint with a Federal agency or to receive a "right-to-sue" letter before going to court. (DOJ, A Guide to Disability Rights Laws Links to an external site.)

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act Links to an external site. (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and applies to all public colleges and universities, regardless of whether they receive federal funding.

The new update to Title II of the ADA Links to an external site. was published by the Department of Justice  April 24, 2024. This rule requires the University’s digital content, that is, websites, electronic documents, digital tools, mobile apps and other web content, to be accessible starting on April 24, 2026. For smaller institutions, under 50,000 total population, the deadline is April 24, 2027.

For a great summary and more detailed discussion of how these laws impact higher education, review “Legal Obligations for Accessibility Links to an external site.” by UDL on Campus.

What Section 504 and the ADA Mean for Instruction

For those working with faculty and in instruction it's important to understand how Section 504 and the ADA impact this area. These laws require that

• People with disabilities cannot be denied services due to their disability.
  
  • E.g., You cannot tell a student that they can't enroll in a particular program or take a class because of their disability.
• Students with disabilities must be given appropriate accommodations (assistive technology, extended time, captions, etc.) to ensure they can meet the same objectives as students without disabilities.

• • E.g., You cannot refuse to give extended time on a test or provide documents in an alternative format to a student who has an accommodation request that outlines those needs.
    
• People with disabilities should have access to material of the same quality and within the same time frame as people without disabilities. 
  
  • E.g., If you record your lecture and make it available to the class on a Friday in order to study for an exam on Monday, that video must be captioned and made available within the same time frame for a deaf student - otherwise they do not have the same access to the study materials as other students, which puts them at a disadvantage. Put simply: students with disabilities should not have to wait for accessible materials as it can hold back their progress in class. 
    
• Students with disabilities should be able to access the course material as easily as a student without a disability.
  • E.g., A blind student should be able to independently access a website without the assistance of a sighted person. 

Section 508 

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 specifically addresses accessibility of electronic and information technology for federal agencies (many states, like Washington, have developed policies that support Section 508 standards). 

Section 508 establishes requirements for electronic and information technology developed, maintained, procured, or used by the Federal government. Section 508 requires Federal electronic and information technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, including employees and members of the public.

An accessible information technology system is one that can be operated in a variety of ways and does not rely on a single sense or ability of the user. For example, a system that provides output only in visual format may not be accessible to people with visual impairments and a system that provides output only in audio format may not be accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some individuals with disabilities may need accessibility-related software or peripheral devices in order to use systems that comply with Section 508. (DOJ, A Guide to Disability Rights Laws Links to an external site.)

Given the changes in technology since 1998, Section 508 Links to an external site. has undergone a refresh and was published to the National Register on Jan 22, 2018.
 
One of the changes that came out of the refresh was to expand the application of 508 to include:

Public facing content

• Electronic content that is publicly available shall conform…
  • PDFs, Word docs, multimedia, etc.

Content that is not publicly available

• Agency official communication in nine categories:
  • An emergency notification
  • An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding
  • An internal or external program or policy announcement
  • A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action
  • A formal acknowledgment of receipt
  • A survey questionnaire
  • A template or form
  • Educational or training materials
  • Intranet content design

NPR Disabilities Beat – How can schools better support students with disabilities (8:10)

US Web Accessibility Law Summary (3:47)

Josh Miller of 3Play Media summarizes American laws that govern web accessibility and require organizations to transcribe and caption video.

• Legal Obligations for Accessibility Links to an external site. - a good overview of disability-related Civil Rights laws governing higher ed. Introduces legal requirements as well as recent rulings in higher ed. 
• Section 504 Links to an external site. - Learn more about Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and how it helps ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities 
• OCR Recent Resolutions Links to an external site. - great summaries of recent education cases and the policies that came out of them.