On April 20, 2026, the Department of Justice published an Interim Final Rule extending the ADA Title II web accessibility compliance deadline for public entities from April 24, 2026 to April 26, 2027. Regardless of federal enforcement timelines, accessibility remains a requirement under UC policy and an ongoing institutional responsibility.
As a recipient of federal funding, UC Merced remains subject to accessibility requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In practice, this means that our expectations for accessible digital content remain in place, with May 11, 2026 serving as an important near-term milestone for our campus.
The requirements related to newly created content have not changed. Digital materials created on or after April 24, including documents, social media posts, course materials, and similar content, must meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards as they are produced. This is an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-time deadline.
Lastly, the University of California’s IT Accessibility Policy (IMT-1300) remains in effect, and UC Merced’s digital accessibility efforts will continue. The progress our community has made in remediating websites, captioning video, improving documents, and enhancing course materials has strengthened access to information and services across campus.
If you have been working on accessibility improvements, please continue that work. If you have not yet started, we encourage you to begin incorporating accessibility into your content creation and maintenance practices. Tools, training, and support remain available:
- Use SensusAccess to convert documents into accessible formats
- Use YuJa Panorama to review and improve course content accessibility in Canvas
- Ensure newly created content meets accessibility standards; refer to the Social Media Accessibility and Document Accessibility checklists
- Visit the Digital Accessibility website for guidance, training resources, and consultation scheduling
We will continue to share updates as additional guidance becomes available, including any updates from UCOP regarding policy timelines.
Thank you for the work you have already done to make UC Merced’s digital content more accessible. We recognize this is a significant effort and remain committed to providing the tools and support needed to sustain this work over time.
