Accessibility First! – GCC’s Title II Responsibilities

Genesee Community College (GCC)  is committed to providing equal access to its programs, services, and activities for individuals with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recent updates to Title II of the ADA have established new requirements for web accessibility, which the College has been implementing.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued new regulations under Title II of the ADA, requiring that public entities ensure their websites and online content are accessible to individuals with disabilities. These regulations align with existing obligations under Title II and aim to ensure equal access to information and services provided by public entities.

GCC is required to comply with the updated ADA regulations for web accessibility by April 26, 2027. This includes ensuring that all digital content—including all content for online classes, digital content for in-person courses, content from publishers, student-submitted content, third-party platforms, and social media channels—meet the specified technical standards.

GCC has adopted WCAG 2.2, Level AA as the target technical standard for digital accessibility. WCAG 2.2, Level AA provides a series of success criteria for web developers and content creators to follow, ensuring that digital content is perceivable, operable, and understandable for all users, and sufficiently robust to be compatible with assistive technologies. These guidelines are developed based on a set of basic principles that aim to make the web usable and accessible for everyone.

Some web and mobile app content may not need to meet the technical standard, as covered in the DOJ fact sheet:

• Archived web content: Content not currently used or altered since being archived by a public entity, and kept only for reference, research, or record-keeping purposes.
• Pre-existing conventional electronic documents: Documents available on a website or mobile app before the date of compliance.
• Third-party content: Content posted by third parties, unless the third party is posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the public entity.
• Individualized password-protected documents: Password-protected or otherwise secured documents about a specific person, property, or account.
• Pre-existing social media posts: Social media posts made before the date of compliance.