Legislation
Institutions of higher education are required by federal law to provide students with disabilities with an equal educational experience. When creating online materials, instructors should consider how best to make their learning materials and courses accessible.
Legislation requires public educational institutions to provide students with disabilities with an equal and equitable educational experience. These include:
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Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs or activities receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education and certain public entities.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, although not directly applicable to institutions of higher education in its current form, is frequently used to set the bar for accessible experiences. The position of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice are that the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 apply to web-based business, institutions of higher education, and distance education.
“Covered entities under the ADA are required to provide effective communication, regardless of whether they generally communicate through print media, audio media, or computerized media such as the Internet. Covered entities that use the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods, or services must be prepared to offer those communications through accessible means as well.”
The U.S. Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) define accessible to mean, “a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. A person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as a person without a disability. Although this might not result in identical ease of use compared to that of persons without disabilities, it still must ensure equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of such technology.”