Digital Accessibility

New ADA Title II Rule Take Effect April 26, 2026

UC Davis is committed to protecting the civil rights of every individual and fostering a culture of full inclusion and belonging. We aim to ensure that everyone can access, benefit from, and contribute to our digital information, programs, and services. New federal rules requiring compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA take effect on April 24, 2026. By April 24, 2026, all content owners will need to prioritize, assess, and fix websites, applications, and content to ensure compliance.
What's in the rule? Request Training

ITAPP Committee

To prepare for the Title II deadline, the IT Accessibility Policy Program (ITAPP) has been charged with providing guidance and resources toward WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. This committee will be employing an institutional maturity model that includes circular processes of assessment, planning, and implementation. Hands-on work groups are reviewing digital communication and web content, academic materials, and software both purchased and developed by UC Davis programs. New guidance, resources and training will be made available to staff and faculty as soon as possible. Please contact the Digital Accessibility Program Manager with questions. 

Have questions? Join the Digital Accessibility Program Manager for Digital Accessibility Q&A Thursdays at 1:00 PM

Guidance & Resources

ITAPP is currently in pursuit of Digital Accessibility tools and solutions that provide training, assistance, and leverage automation to minimize manual testing and remediation for faculty and staff. In the meantime, the resources below are immediately available as a starting place for your Accessibility efforts.
 

UCD Resources

UCOP Resources

  • UC Information Technology Accessibility Policy
    This policy was approved August 27, 2013. It promotes an accessible IT environment at the UC to help ensure that as broad a population as possible may access programs and services.
  • Accessibility Office Hours
    A live Q&A session where participants can submit questions in advance, drop in with new or emerging issues, and engage with cross-functional experts to clarify compliance interpretations
  • Web Developer Guidelines
    These guidelines represent the most basic steps for improving the accessibility of websites and reflect good development standards.
  • Procurement Best Practices
    Guidelines to help UC procurement and electronic accessibility staff purchase accessible electronic products/services.

Available Tools

  • Siteimprove on SiteFarm
    Siteimprove helps fix or improve accessibility, SEO, content quality, security issues, and more. UC has a systemwide contract for the Siteimprove, which is available to everyone at UC.
  • Kaltura on Canvas
    Kaltura is a video repository for adding automated captions to audio and video. Note: auto-captions are not WCAG-compliant and need to be reviewed for quality.
  • Canvas Accessibility Checks
    A step-by-step guide on checking your Canvas shell and embedded media for Accessibility.
  • Prioritization Tool 
    Online tool to help determine priority for accessibility projects.
  • SensusAccess
    SensusAccess has been integrated into UC Davis Canvas to support accessibility, and can automatically convert files into alternate and accessible formats.

Training & Webinars

  • Canvas and Accessibility, Joshua Hori
    In this session, we’ll dive into the built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker by walking through 27 potential content issues.
  • Alt Text Accessibility, Katie Healy
    This 20-minute session will demonstrate how generative AI tools can support instructors in drafting alt text for images used in lectures, Canvas, and course materials before tailoring to their learning outcomes and editing for brevity and accuracy.
  • SensusAccess Inside, Joshua Hori
    In this session, we’ll explore how SensusAccess Inside delivers an automated, on-demand document-conversion service right within Canvas, no extra uploads or manual formatting required.
  • A Conversation About Digital Accessibility at UC Davis, Brad Starkey-Owens
    Brad Starkey-Owens shares his history and philosophy around accessibility, including plans to support UC Davis faculty in meeting the new Title II regulations deadline of April 2026.