DOJ and HHS Extend Web Accessibility Deadlines to 2027–2028

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued interim final rules (IFR) extending the compliance dates for their respective web accessibility final rules by a year. Under the DOJ rule, covered entities with a total population of 50,000 or more have until April 26, 2027, to comply, and those with a total population under 50,000 have until April 26, 2028.^Footnote1 Under the HHS rule, covered entities with fifteen or more employees have until May 11, 2027, to comply, and those with fewer than fifteen employees have until May 11, 2028, to comply.^Footnote2

What Do the DOJ and HHS Web Accessibility Rules Require?

In 2024, the DOJ under the Biden administration finalized a rule on web and mobile application accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).^Footnote3 The rule outlined accessibility requirements for websites and mobile applications that all public institutions would need to comply with. Specifically, it formally adopted Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA (WCAG 2.1 AA), as the standard. It set two compliance timeframes, depending on the size of the governmental entity. DOJ set a compliance deadline of April 24, 2026, for large public entities, defined as governments serving jurisdictions with population sizes of 50,000 people or more, including related entities such as public higher education institutions. Small public entities, defined as those serving population sizes of less than 50,000 people, including any related entities, were given an additional year, until April 26, 2027, to comply.

Less than a month after DOJ issued its final rule, HHS issued its own web and mobile application accessibility final rule, adopting WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard for accessibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Consistent with DOJ's rule, the HHS final rule outlined two compliance timeframes depending on the size of the covered entity: those with fifteen or more employees were required to comply by May 11, 2026, and those with fewer than fifteen employees had until May 11, 2027. While the DOJ rule applies only to public entities, the HHS rule applies to all private or public entities that receive federal HHS funding. Furthermore, for covered educational institutions, such as affected colleges and universities, the Section 504 accessibility requirements apply to all institutional operations, not just the particular program or office that receives HHS funding.

EDUCAUSE submitted comprehensive feedback and comments in response to the proposed rule on DOJ web and mobile application accessibility regulations. The association supported the proposed WCAG 2.1 AA technical standard but recommended that DOJ recognize institutional adoption of WCAG 2.2 and future WCAG versions as constituting a compliance safe harbor, arguing that this would incentivize faster adoption of newer WCAG standards without requiring additional time-consuming federal rulemaking processes. The association also called for revisions to the postsecondary course content exception, which members felt failed to reflect real-world realities of course registration and scheduling. Additionally, EDUCAUSE urged DOJ to extend and recalibrate the compliance timeline to better reflect the specific context and capacities of higher education institutions.

What Are the New Web Accessibility Compliance Deadlines?

In their IFRs, DOJ and HHS explained that they believed it would be unlikely and overly burdensome for all entities to conform to the WCAG 2.1 AA standard by the original compliance dates set in the final rule. DOJ detailed specific correspondence from numerous stakeholders describing the challenges these entities faced in meeting the original large-entity compliance date of April 24, 2026. Likewise, HHS argued its own evaluation determined that all entities, particularly small institutions, would struggle to meet compliance by the date prescribed in its Section 504 final rule. The stakeholders' concerns, together with independent observations by DOJ and HHS regarding compliance difficulties, led the agencies to conclude that they had underestimated the costs and burden associated with the 2024 compliance dates in the final rule. Consequently, they moved to extend their respective dates by a full calendar year.

While both departments acknowledged that these delays would affect individuals with disabilities, they reasoned that extending the compliance dates would ultimately improve accessibility. Specifically, DOJ argued that retaining the original compliance dates would result in rushed, incomplete compliance, subjecting entities to possible litigation risk that would divert resources from accessibility efforts. By allowing more time to comply, the departments believe entities will be able to pursue deliberate and comprehensive compliance and create more accessible digital platforms.

What Are the Next Steps for Higher Education Institutions?

Public higher education institutions have until April 26, 2027, to comply with the DOJ 2024 final rule, and all colleges and universities that receive federal HHS funding have until May 11, 2027, to comply with the HHS 2024 final rule. While both IFRs retain the adopted standards of their respective final rules, both departments said that they plan to engage in future rulemaking processes to review their web and mobile application accessibility regulations and possibly issue Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) during the extension periods to solicit recommendations for improvement. Additionally, covered entities can submit comments on each interim final rule, with the departments stipulating that comments on the IFRs should focus exclusively on their respective compliance deadline extensions.

EDUCAUSE will keep members informed on further developments related to the DOJ and HHS web accessibility regulations.

Notes

1. Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice,"Extension of Compliance Dates for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web information and Services of State and Local Government Entities,"interim final rule, Federal Register 91 no. 75 (April 20, 2026). Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.↩
2. Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health & Human Services,"Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Applications of Recipients of Departmental Financial Assistance; Extension of Compliance Dates,"interim final rule, Federal Register 91, no. 90 (May 11, 2026). Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.↩
3. Katie Branson, "Web and Mobile App Accessibility Regulations," EDUCAUSE Review, June 10, 2024. Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.↩

Bailey Graves is a Senior Associate at Ulman Public Policy.