The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1991 with the intent to enable greater equity and inclusion within society and the workforce for persons with disabilities. A key tenet of ADA is accessibility, which refers to the design of products, devices, services or environments to support these outcomes. Digital accessibility refers to the design and development of information technologies which can readily be used by individuals with disabilities to promote equitable access to information and technology services.
In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice provided further guidance (PDF) on digital accessibility compliance for state and local government entities under ADA. This guidance states that Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 is the accessibility standard for web access to achieve ADA compliance and establishes a compliance date based upon the scale of the covered entity. Based upon guidance from the Office of General Counsel for the Universities of Wisconsin, our work at UWM is part of the compliance obligations of the system which defines a compliance date of April 1, 2026.
To guide this work at UWM, the Digital Accessibility Taskforce (DATF) was organized in June 2024 with the purpose of establishing a campus-wide plan and securing the means to deliver significant compliance by April 1, 2026. It also provides the foundations for how compliance can be maintained over time and how digital accessibility contributes to recruitment and retention through inclusion. The executive sponsors for the DATF include the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, the senior vice chancellor for finance and administrative affairs, the vice chancellor for marketing, communications and university relations and the vice chancellor for community empowerment and institutional inclusivity.