Recent Change to Accessibility Deadlines
What changed and what it means for us
Quick Summary
- DOJ moved ADA Title II compliance to April 2027, but UC Davis still must comply on May 11, 2026 with another existing federal accessibility deadline from HHS
If you’ve been following recent updates on digital accessibility requirements, you may have heard that the federal deadline had shifted...
...and then almost immediately after, you may have heard that our timeline here at UC Davis hasn’t really changed.
So what’s going on?
Quick summary
ADA Title II
A few days ago, the US Department of Justice extended the ADA Title II deadline for web and mobile accessibility to April 24, 2027. This change reflects the reality that remediating years of digital content so that it will work for everyone takes thoughtful and sustained effort.
Rehabilitation Act
At the same time, the US Department of Health and Human Services also had mandated an update to accessibility requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. It's compliance deadline is May 11, 2026 for institutions like ours. You probably hadn't heard of it because the focus was on that earlier DOJ deadline in April.
So while one timeline moved, another still applies, and that’s the one we’re working toward now.
What this means for FOA
Basically, our path forward hasn’t changed. We're still working toward making our FOA websites, documents, and digital services accessible, and we’re still doing it together, across teams, one step at a time.
If anything, these updates reinforce something we already know: This is big, important work. And it takes time, coordination, and consistent effort.
What’s already happening across FOA
Across FOA, staff have already been making meaningful improvements in small, individual ways, and in larger group efforts. Big or small, those efforts matter and they add up.
And we have tools that make this easier to build into our daily work: Whether it’s using heading styles in Word, adding alt text in PowerPoint, or running an accessibility checker before sending a document, these simple steps move us all forward.
We’re getting there
Accessibility is an important, shared responsibility across our units. Every accessible document, every improved page, every small fix contributes to a more usable experience for the people we serve. We don’t have to solve everything overnight, we just need to keep moving forward, building good habits, supporting each other and making steady progress.
Thank you for the work you’ve already done, and for continuing to be part of this effort!
Things you can do today
Wondering where you can start with digital accessibility? Here are a few simple ways to help right now:
- Run the Accessibility Checker in Word, PowerPoint, or Excel before sharing a document
- Add alt text to images in documents, slides, or emails
- Use built-in heading styles to organize longer content
- Check your links to make sure they describe where they go (not just “click here”)
- Take one existing document or page you use often and improve its accessibility