Learn about the DOJ and ED's joint ‘Dear Colleague’ letter regarding webpage accessibility

Abstract

On May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Education Department released a joint “Dear Colleague” letter outlining the Section 504 and Americans With Disabilities Act accessibility obligations that govern educational institutions’ public‐facing webpages. Although the Dear Colleague letter reiterates that all public‐facing webpages should be accessible to low‐vision, hearing‐impaired, and limited motor control users, it offers little new guidance on compliance timelines, suggesting instead that the Departments will afford some flexibility to institutions that have not yet come into compliance. Thus, while institutions already should have ensured as a matter of self‐interest that critical public‐facing webpages — including those related to applications, marketing, and news announcements — are accessible, institutions need not scour all public‐facing webpages to immediately root out inaccessible archival material.