a11y (digital accessibility)

Sometimes we forget to celebrate the wins and remember the past. AIM HE Act did not gain traction and pass, unfortunately. The original update to the ADA that introduced Web Content Accessibility Standards (WCAG) had an exception for password-protected instructional materials. This meant that instructional content would once again be inaccessible. Yet, people and organizations from all over wrote to encourage the government to remove this exception. The final rule does not have an exception for password-protected instructional content. This means that public higher education institutions need to make their instructional materials accessible and are working to be compliant when the rule takes effect in about 2-3 years. Hopefully, this will eventually apply to all higher education institutions in the future.