Is your enterprise required to comply with ADA regulations? Then you are also required to comply with the other regulation that requires that your website be ADA compliant – Yes, this includes all school websites.
In a client case study, a Country Inn and Spa received a non-compliance of ADA regulation demand letter sent by an attorney representing a vision impaired woman. She had claimed that she could not use the Inn’s website because of her disability. The damages sought were the same as their EPL retention, a $15,000 uninsured liability claim – Ouch!
In addition to habitational risks, all school websites are currently required to be ADA compliant. By July 2019 all schools are required to have the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Certificate on their website.
If you think you are compliant or have any doubts, now is when you should address the issue with your IT consultant. You have a choice of course. You can address the issue head–on now with minimum hassle or hope to remain under the federal radar and the radar of opportunists looking for non-compliant websites as in the case study.
If your IT consultant is not familiar with WCAG requirements there are services that specialize in school website design and maintenance. We recommend School Webmasters in Mesa, AZ. They know the law and what needs to be done to your website to be in compliance. Kelly Childs (www.schoolwebmasters.com), Director of Website Accessibility, has offered to review your website and consult with you regarding regulation compliance.
The law is open-ended in terms of continual updates as software technology is enhanced so it is prudent to subscribe to a service that is abreast of the technology. An upside to the regulation is that it will allow your institution to be accessible to many more potential students and allowing others to more educational opportunities.
