WCAG

The education industry is facing another challenge as the school year begins: a skyrocketing number of digital accessibility lawsuits. In July and the first week of August, we have tracked 35 federal lawsuits targeting the education industry filed in U.S. Federal District Court. To put that in perspective, there were just two federal lawsuits the entire first half of 2020. That’s a 1,750% increase, with new cases filed almost every day. If your institution doesn’t have a strong position on digital accessibility, there could be trouble ahead.

A lawsuit filed against Gimlet Media, a leading digital media company, recently garnered plenty of attention both within and beyond the website accessibility community. This lawsuit, among others, elevates the importance of digital accessibility being a core capability of any modern digital platform, especially as companies are required to comply with legislation such as Title III of the ADA and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.

The world of the web evolves at a frenetic pace, and it’s often possible—or even advisable—for web teams to play a little fast and loose if it means getting to market ahead of the competition. When it comes to accessibility, you really do need to get it right, or risk facing lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and a host of new state laws. But whose job is it to ensure ADA compliance?

To understand website accessibility laws in Canada, we start with the Canadian Disability Rights Movement, which began after the World War I when veterans who were disabled began returning home and needed accommodation and resources. It wasn’t until after World War II that accommodations and services for disabled veterans also began to apply to all people with disabilities.