Shift Your Strategy for ADA Title II Update: Focus on Training and Future-Proofing

Editor’s Note (Updated April 2026): At the time of publication, the ADA Title II compliance deadline was April 24, 2026. The U.S. Department of Justice has since extended the deadline to April 26, 2027. While this extension provides additional time, institutions are strongly encouraged to maintain momentum and continue advancing accessibility efforts to ensure meaningful progress ahead of the new deadline.

As the ADA Title II compliance deadline—originally April 24, 2026 and now extended to April 26, 2027—approaches, many colleges are asking the same question: What do we do about the thousands of existing PDFs on our websites? The scale of remediation can feel overwhelming and, for many institutions, unrealistic to complete within the timeframe.

The CCC Accessibility Center recognizes that fully remediating every existing PDF by the deadline is costly, complex, and often not the best use of limited resources. Rather than focusing all efforts on clearing a large PDF backlog, the Accessibility Center recommends a strategic shift: prioritize practical actions, establish clear guardrails, and build sustainable practices so new content is accessible from the start.

The compliance deadline should serve as the point when accessibility becomes the standard for all new PDFs. This proactive (rather than reactive) approach allows colleges to make steady progress on existing content without continuing to introduce new accessibility barriers. Importantly, the extended timeline should not be viewed as a reason to delay action, but as an opportunity to deepen training, strengthen processes, and demonstrate measurable progress.

A Phased, Practical Approach to Managing Existing PDFs

For existing PDFs, the Accessibility Center recommends a phased approach that balances impact and available resources.

Phase 1: Inventory and Assessment
  • Create a document inventory: Use tools such as Pope Tech to identify PDFs currently linked on your website.
  • Assess usage and importance: Identify documents that are frequently accessed or contain critical information (e.g., financial aid instructions or enrollment requirements).
Phase 2: Strategic Pruning and Archiving
  • Evaluate relevance: Determine whether documents are still accurate, necessary, or actively used.
  • Archive inactive content: Outdated or rarely accessed PDFs can be removed from public-facing pages and made available in an accessible format upon request.
Phase 3: Format Conversion
  • Choose webpages over PDFs: Convert simple informational PDFs into HTML webpages or Canvas pages for improved accessibility, usability, and mobile support.
  • Replace PDF forms: Move application or intake forms to accessible web forms, such as Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, or native CMS forms.
Phase 4: Prioritized Remediation (Impact-Based)

For documents that must remain as PDFs, prioritize remediation based on:

  • High impact: Essential student services, legal documents, and required instructional materials
  • High usage: High-traffic or frequently downloaded documents
  • Longevity: Content expected to remain relevant for several years

Building Accessibility into Everyday Work

Every institution has content creators, even if they don’t carry that title. Anyone who uploads a syllabus, posts a flyer, shares a form, or publishes a PDF is creating digital content. Accessibility needs to be part of that everyday work, not something addressed only after problems arise.

Training content creators to build accessibility into their workflows makes this work more manageable, scalable, and sustainable over time.

Training to Support Long-Term Success

To support colleges, the Accessibility Center offers training focused on practical, day-to-day content creation:

Looking Ahead

By establishing clear guardrails, prioritizing practical actions, and training content creators, colleges can meet the intent of the ADA Title II update without overextending limited resources. Most importantly, this approach helps institutions stop creating inaccessible content, while steadily improving access to what already exists.

Contact the Accessibility Center to learn more: accessibility@ccctechcenter.org