On April 26th, 2026, updated regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will go into effect for our institution. These new regulations require that all web content provided by state or local governments are compliant with the success criteria provided by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, a list of recommendations put forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). There are three levels of conformance defined in WCAG 2.1: A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest). The minimum required level of accessibility under the new ADA regulations is AA.
Do the new regulations apply to us?
Yes. All state and local governmental agencies, as well as any group, program, or institution funded by state or local government, are subject to the updated rules regarding web content. Groups subject to the new regulations include:
- Public schools, community colleges, and public universities (That's us!)
- State and local government offices that provide benefits and/or social services, like food assistance, health insurance, or employment services
- State and local police departments, courts, and elections offices
- Public hospitals and public healthcare clinics
- Public parks, libraries, transit agencies, and recreation programs
Are Moodle activities compliant?
Yes. Quizzes, Assignments, Forums, H5P and any other built-in Moodle activity is generally accessible. The new regulations are mostly only relevant to content distributed through your course (typically via file upload or URL, e.g. a Google Docs/Slides link).
Is my course content subject to the new regulations?
Generally, all content provided to students in your Moodle course is required to be accessible under WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. There are exceptions, however.
To learn if your content is exempt from the new regulations, use the Decision Tree below. First, choose which exception you think your document falls under. Then, follow the prompts.
NOTE: This decision tree is only for reference. It is NOT legal advice. The information contained in this decision tree is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
Which exception do you want to check your document against?
Was your document created before 04/24/2026?
Is the document kept only for reference, research, or recordkeeping?
Is the document kept in a special area for archived content (i.e. it is not available to students)?
Has the document changed since it was archived?
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably does fall under this exception!
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Was your document created before 04/24/2026?
Is your document a word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet file?
Was your document available on your course/website prior to 04/26/2026?
Is this document still being used in your course materials?
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably does fall under this exception!
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Who was your document created by?
Your document probably does fall under this exception! Students are not legally required to provide accessible submissions to assignments in their course.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
It may be difficult to verify accessibility for third party content. If it is from a common provider used by other institutions (BryteWave, Pearson, MyOpenMath, etc.) it is probably already accessible.
Is your document a word processing, presentation, PDF, or spreadsheet file?
Is your document only relevant to/about a specific individual?
Is your document password-protected or otherwise secured so that only the relevant specific individual can access it?
(Files posted on a Moodle course are not considered ‘secured’ in this context, despite needing to be registered to LCC to access them.)
Your document probably does fall under this exception!
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
Was this posted prior to 04/26/2026?
Your document probably does fall under this exception!
For many entities, making all past social media posts accessible may be impossible or not worth the effort as they were only relevant during a specific period of time.
Your document probably doesn't fall under this exception.
What if my course content cannot be remediated due to extenuating circumstances?
If – and only if – there is a technical or legal limitation that prevents inaccessible content in your course from being made accessible, a Conforming Alternate Version may be suitable.
A Conforming Alternate Version (CAV) is a separate document, web page, or piece of material that is accessible, up to date, contains the exact same information and functionality as the inaccessible version, and can be reached via an accessible web page or an accessibility-supported mechanism. CAVs are perfectly allowable under WCAG, but the Department of Justice recommends avoiding them whenever possible for a few reasons:
- It is generally believed that providing individuals with disabilities direct access to web content provides the best user experience.
- Having two separate versions of a document to maintain can easily become difficult to upkeep, if the content ever changes.
The Department, when writing the updated regulations, expressed concern that the use of conforming alternate versions could be interpreted to permit the development of two separate versions of a public entity's web content, even when doing so is unnecessary and disabled users would have an objectively better experience using the main version of the content. Such an approach could result in segregated access for individuals with disabilities and be inconsistent with the spirit of the ADA. Additionally, due to the maintenance burden introduced by having at least two separate versions of the same document to maintain, the Department is concerned that information could rapidly become discordant between the various versions of the document. Due to these concerns, it is the position of the Department that CAVs should be avoided if possible, despite WCAG 2.1 guidelines allowing for unfettered production of them.
This looks different for a public library than it does for an educational institution, however. We recognize that there are several subjects in which WCAG 2.1 can be difficult to satisfy. As a result, Lane Community College does NOT have any specific restrictions around the use of Conforming Alternate Versions as of this time.
Contact Academic Technology Center
ATC Support & Hours of Operation
Weekday Support, Monday - Friday
- Phone (voicemail only): 541-463-3377 (8am-5pm)
- Email: atc@lanecc.edu (8am-5pm)
- Find our updated hours and support options on the ATC Website
The ATC is open to in-person assistance. Support is available through the above remote options and on campus at CEN 208