Creating online content for UC? New federal digital accessibility regulations apply to you.

If you create, manage or share digital content as part of your work at UC — whether it’s a website, PDF, PowerPoint, video or social media post — a new federal accessibility law will affect how you do that work.

The federal government has finalized new digital accessibility regulations for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which will take effect in April and May of 2026, respectively.

Under these new regulations, all public education institutions are responsible for ensuring that their digital and web content, mobile applications and online experiences are accessible, with limited exceptions. Failure to follow these regulations opens UC to legal liabilities.

Here’s what to know — and what you need to do.

How is accessibility defined?

Under the new regulations, “accessible” is measured by conformance to Level A and Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1.

What digital properties are covered under the ADA rule?

All website and app content, files and experiences must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. This includes:

• All text and media files, including PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint slide decks, Excel spreadsheets, charts, diagrams, data visualizations and other graphics, eLearning modules, mp3s, videos, social media posts and other files posted online
• Zoom webinars
• Third-party digital content UC procures, provides, utilizes or otherwise makes available via contractual, licensing or other arrangements

These regulations apply to both the publicly available digital content, platforms and experiences that UC manages, as well as those that are non-public and require authentication, like UCPath, EPIC, the UC Learning Center, campus learning management systems, etc.

What are my responsibilities as a UCOP employee?

If you manage teams

• Ensure that your team is aware of the requirements, outline expectations and responsibilities and create a plan for compliance

• Evaluate your team’s web presence and digital properties, and consider if inaccessible, out-of-date materials can be decommissioned or archived

If you host Zoom meetings

• Ensure your Zoom settings are updated for accessibility
• If you use visual aids, ensure color contrast requirements are met and that visual information is equivalently conveyed through your talking points

If you create and/or distribute digital content

• Begin learning how to achieve the WCAG 2.1 Level A and Level AA standards applicable to the content you manage and offer
• Explore these quick reference accessibility guidelines and other content-specific resources and libraries available through the UC Electronic Accessibility Committee website, such as: Create Accessible PDFs, Transcripts & Captioning, eCourse Accessibility Checklist, Rich Text Editors

If you create or distribute videos

• All pre-recorded videos need accurate captions. Closed captioning is preferred because it allows users to control the size and look of the captions, as well as whether they are displayed.

• Pre-recorded (non-live) videos may need to include an audio description — additional narration that describes important visual details not conveyed by the main narration/dialogue alone. To help you understand why, here is an example YouTube video that needs an audio description, along with its audio description supplement.

If you’re a website developer or work with outside developers

• Explore the resources available through the UC Electronic Accessibility Web Developers page
• Check the websites you manage with Siteimprove and begin fixing identified issues

If you procure digital or mobile content or platforms from a vendor

• Begin discussing web accessibility requirements with your vendor(s)
• Explore the Electronic Accessibility Committee’s procurement guide (PDF) and procurement-related offerings
• Ensure accessibility requirements are spoken to in contracts through UC’s standard Terms & Conditions

Resources

UC systemwide resources

• UC Electronic Accessibility website
• Monthly Digital Accessibility Office Hours: A great venue for any questions, but especially those of a legal or compliance-related nature
• UC IT Accessibility Policy and Title II/Section 504 Resources
• Digital Accessibility Webinar and Systemwide Office Hours Recordings
• UCnet article: New regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act that will impact UC
• UC Information Technology Accessibility Policy (ITAP) IMT-1300 (PDF): Expected to be updated in 2026 and will also adopt WCAG 2.1 AA as its technical standards
• The ITAP update draft (PDF) recently concluded its 90-day public comment period and should be finalized shortly

Location resources

• UC ANR Accessibility Resources
• UC Berkeley Digital Accessibility Program
• UC Davis Digital Accessibility
• UC Irvine Digital Accessibility Training and Resources
• UC Merced Digital Accessibility
• UCLA Web Accessibility Initiative (UWAI)
• UC Riverside Digital Accessibility
• UCSF Digital Accessibility Compliance Project
• UC San Diego Accessibility
• UC Santa Barbara Website Accessibility
• UC Santa Cruz: Make IT Accessible Guide

Outside resources

• DOJ Fact Sheet on the New Rule and First Steps Toward Complying
• Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) digital accessibility video series
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973