Indiana University accessibility leaders are reminding all employees that they must comply with a new federal rule requiring all public institutions to meet updated accessibility standards by April 24, 2026.

Under the federal rule, all course content, websites, and university digital programs and services must proactively meet updated accessibility requirements. This includes website content, attached documents, password-protected content and content provided by third-party vendors. It also includes PDFs, software, social media and videos.

Why accessibility matters to IU

Ensuring digital accessibility is not only a federal requirement but also reflects IU’s commitment to providing broad access to higher education while prioritizing universal access to facilities, information and technologies. Making sure our entire IU community has access to what they need to succeed benefits us all and positions IU to make an even greater impact.

What IU employees should do now

Digital accessibility expectations apply broadly to anyone who creates or shares content — including all instructors, staff, event hosts, leaders, technology purchasers, web developers and web managers. To prepare for the upcoming federal deadline:

• Review the accessibility requirements for the types of digital content you create or manage.
• Determine what updates you may need to make to instructional materials, websites, documents, social media posts or digital tools.
• Use the university’s resources and tools to ensure your content meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Need help?

The university has many resources available at accessibility.iu.edu to help staff and faculty meet the standards set by the federal rule, including:

• Guidelines to help employees who create electronic documents, instructional materials, multimedia, social media and web content.
• Accessibility training for faculty.
• Multiple tools for specific tasks, including working with multilingual content or alt text.
• Course accessibility consultations with Assistive Technology and Accessibility Centers in UITS Learning Technologies.

The Office of Civil Rights Compliance has collaborated with the teams who manage digital resources and tools to create resources to support the university community in creating accessible digital content for all of IU’s services, programs and activities. The efforts are designed to support the university community in creating accessible digital content for all of IU’s services, programs and activities.