[CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

Thu Jun 5 14:24:23 PDT 2025

All,

I have a couple updates to share regarding the letter from ACE.

First, the WAPED and DSSC boards have been in communication with each other about the letter. On Monday, June 9th, both organizations will be holding two different listening session times for members. Board members will be present from both groups, and anyone who is a member of either DSSC or WAPED is welcome to attend. This will be a space for open discussion, where members can share their perspectives, voice concerns, and help shape our collective response.

The listening sessions will be held at 10am and 3pm via Zoom. The Zoom information is below. Thank you for your time and please feel free to reach out if there are any questions.

  *   Discuss American Council on Education Letter - Session 1 at 10:00am<https://spscc.zoom.us/j/87832470470>

  *   Discuss American Council on Education Letter - Session 2 at 3:00pm<https://spscc.zoom.us/j/82103782358>

Secondly, I showed the letter to our agency's interim Executive Director, Chris Bailey. He expressed similar surprise and concerns that we have already pointed out.

Chris advised that CATO write a letter of concern with a call to action for STAC to be sent by the group's leadership. I suggest that one request is that a copy of both the ACE letter and the letter from CATO is shared upward with our presidents through WACTC. Zach's email already outlines many good points that could go into an advocacy letter.

Chris mentioned to me that some of our presidents are connected with ACE and may be able to seek clarity about the intent of the letter on our system's behalf. Aditionally, this is a good time to ask that our presidents/leaders remind the system of Washington state's existing digital accessibility policy.

Please let me know if CATO decides to take this action and how I may be of support throughout the process.

Monica

Monica M. Olsson (she/her/hers)

Policy Associate – Accessible IT Coordinator

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

•Email: molsson at sbctc.edu<mailto:molsson at sbctc.edu> • Phone: 360-704-3922

The power of the Web is in its universality.

Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

________________________________
From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> on behalf of Lattin, Zachary via CATO <cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 11:45 AM
To: Distribution List for the Committee for Accessible Technology Oversight <cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Cc: Lattin, Zachary <ZLattin at clark.edu>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

[Sent from outside SBCTC]

WOW, thank you for sharing these, especially the second one.  More of us need to make the point that signing letters like that harms the disability community and makes it harder for those of us trying to get people to follow time lines and do the right thing here.  Not for the first time in 2025 I feel caught between the national gears and the Wa state gears.

Here's my (relatively tame) pushback I shared with WAPED this morning

Hello WAPED,

Eric, thank you for sharing Jarret Cummings's rationale for why Educause signed a letter asking for a pause on Title II implementation.  I take  umbrage with some of Educause's reasoning which I won't go into, but I do want to share these thoughts at least:

•             ADA Title II updates are a HUGE deal because they finally  put accessibility of physical spaces and accessibility of virtual spaces on the same level.  It has taken at least 25 years for the ADA to really recognize that folks face discrimination due to disability in virtual spaces as well as physical ones, and with these updates insisting that virtual spaces follow the WCAG 2.1 guidelines, this is that recognition codified in a rigorous way!

•             AT users like me have been waiting a long time for this day because now the ADA  finally gives us a recourse when we are unable to use technology that is essential for anyone's survival in 2025.  Think of that next time you use your touch-screen thermostat, access a restaurant menu after scanning a QR code, or use 90% of the public kiosks out there.  All of these are BARELY-accessible or outright inaccessible processes right now that Title II updates would push folks to remediate.

•             It's beyond disheartening to see groups who were trumpeting these updates, the rule-making process, the NPRM, etc. two years ago do this about-face and sign this letter, which yes I have run through OCR software and read.  I also read Doug's version and it had a better read order. ;-)

•             In my opinion, right now  leadership and  disability rights advocacy in this area looks like seizing this moment and creating trainings and awareness around these time lines, making other leaders aware of Title II updates and new requirements, and pushing vendors to build accessible virtual environments, not rehashing "prior comments from the higher education association community."

•             We still have state Digital Accessibility Policy User 01 which asks for adherence to WCAG 2.1 and sets deadlines based on those in Title II.

•             If you feel so moved and have contacts at those orgs, consider writing American Council on Education, American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Educause, etc. and asking them to rescind their letter or at the very least explaining the consequences of pausing Title II implementation which boil down to few or no consequences for those who continue to create inaccessible virtual spaces and little legal recourse for those of us accessing them when they don’t work for us.

I appreciate you all and wish we could be passing a mic and discussing this in a physical space!

Thank you,

--Zach

P.S., off the top of my head, here are a couple more screen-reader inaccessible UI’s from my personal life in 2025: The PBS Kids App, the entire “Orders” tab of Uber Eats, and the IOS amazon Music App.  Without ADA updates these vendors are less likely to make their UIs accessible.

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of Amy Rovner via CATO
Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 11:01 AM
To: Distribution List for the Committee for Accessible Technology Oversight <cato at lists.ctc.edu>
Cc: Amy Rovner <arovner at shoreline.edu>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

There were push back responses to the Educause rationale this morning. Here are two( and I'll stop sharing if all of you are on that listserv!)

First One:

Educause pushing back on the new Title II rules because of the lack of follow-up from the DOJ clarifying how to meet the standards on such a "short" time frame continues the same push back that higher ed has been making against supporting people with disabilities since the passing of the Rehab Act in 1973. The WCAG standard has been around for a very long time as the de facto standard to follow for web accessibility. If higher ed was serious about supporting people with disabilities the "short" time frame would be easy to meet because higher ed would already be meeting it.

Second One:

Thank you, Jarret, for your detailed and transparent response. I appreciate the explanation of the letter's intent and the complexities of engaging with a challenging administrative environment.

That said, and with all due respect, I remain deeply concerned that the letter may do more harm than good. The letter-intended to secure clarification-may unintentionally draw increased political attention to a long-overdue regulation that has already faced years of delay. In my opinion, public institutions (and developers in general) have deprioritized digital accessibility, despite clear guidance and precedent from the DOJ and the courts. The April 2026 deadline is not a surprise-it's a formal acknowledgment of long-standing obligations.

If this rule is ultimately dismantled, it won't be because of ambiguity from the DOJ-it will be because the very institutions charged with upholding civil rights tried to sidestep them, and in doing so, handed a loaded weapon to an administration openly hostile to disability and civil rights protections.

This is a moment for leadership. Institutions should be doubling down on compliance and inclusion-not retreating from them. Please consider retracting the letter and encouraging universities (and vendors and developers) to get to work. (My views are my own, by the way).

------------------------------
Jill Bateman
Digital Accessibility Coordinator
Ohio University
batemanj at ohio.edu<mailto:batemanj at ohio.edu>

Amy Rovner, MPH RD
Director eLearning Services
Accessible IT Coordinator

Shoreline Community College

www.shoreline.edu<http://www.shoreline.edu/>  |  206.546.6937

eLearning Office: 206.546.6966

eLearning Email: elearning at shoreline.edu<mailto:elearning at shoreline.edu>

Shoreline Support Center<https://support.shoreline.edu/>

[Shoreline logo with tagline, Engage. Achieve.]

________________________________

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Hanscom, Michael via CATO <cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>>
Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 10:54 AM
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Cc: Hanscom, Michael <mhanscom at highline.edu<mailto:mhanscom at highline.edu>>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

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Definitely think that we should re-share the letter and drive a little more visibility on that.

I saw Eric say on WAPED that what he got from AHEAD was that the current administration didn’t seem too keen on actually doing anything here. However, my concern is that to date it’s been more of this not being on their radar, and a letter like this one from EDUCAUSE et al. could well be what _puts_ it on the radar. I’m not at all happy about this, and definitely watching to see what else we hear.

Michael Hanscom (he/him), Accessible Technology Program Manager, Highline College

mhanscom at highline.edu<mailto:mhanscom at highline.edu> | Building 25-516 | https://accessibility.highline.edu

Accessible Technology Zoom Lobby: Wed. 3:30-4:15 p.m., Thu. 3-3:45 p.m. https://highline.zoom.us/my/mhanscom

Access Services: 206.592.3857 | access at highline.edu<mailto:access at highline.edu> | https://access.highline.edu

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Fauth, Bryan via CATO
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 4:59 PM
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Cc: Fauth, Bryan <bfauth at cascadia.edu<mailto:bfauth at cascadia.edu>>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

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Excellent points, Zach! There is a representative on the board of directors for the American Association of Community Colleges who is a current member of our system. After Monica meets with SBCTC leadership, maybe we can consider sharing our letter of support and attaching some concerns along with it?

Best,

Bryan Fauth, M.S.

Director of Accessibility & Student Support Services

Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his

Phone: 425.352.8261

Email: bfauth at cascadia.edu<http://bfauth@cascadia.edu/>

Student Accessibility Services Webpage<https://www.cascadia.edu/student-resources/academic-support/accessibility.aspx>

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Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 3:42 PM
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Cc: Lattin, Zachary <ZLattin at clark.edu<mailto:ZLattin at clark.edu>>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

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Hi CATO,

With all respect, I think we should take the fact that The American Association of Community Colleges signed the letter as them supporting it.  It’s unclear to me whether our state colleges belong to that group as ironically their search isn’t too accessible.  If Monica meets with SBCTC’s leadership on this, I think questions should be more along the lines of “What is SBCTC’s / our system’s stance on Title II / this letter?”  and “Are you aware that American Association of Community Colleges, Educause and other groups  supports pausing implementation of Title II of ADA?  Realistically here are some of the implications of that happening.”  Maybe CATO can re-share our CATO letter of support for Title II with SBCTC leadership, which is becoming more important by the day.  ??

Also, if you have the energy or know a contact from any of the fifteen signing organizations, perhaps email them and explain the situation and ask them to rescind the letter.

Rob Carr said something in last week’s training that really stuck with me: “The headwinds are so strong against access work right now.”  I’m thankful to have you all weathering these winds with me.  ??

--Zach

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> On Behalf Of Monica Olsson via CATO
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 1:59 PM
To: Committee for Accessible Technology Oversight [CATO <cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>>
Cc: Monica Olsson <molsson at sbctc.edu<mailto:molsson at sbctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

Grrrrr.

I knew it was a matter of time before we saw something more concrete attacking the web accessibility ruling from this administration.

I have requested a meeting with our interim executive director at SBCTC to help me clarify the if the American Associate of Community Colleges is supporting this memo or not.

Monica M. Olsson (she/her/hers)

Policy Associate – Accessible IT Coordinator

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

•Email: molsson at sbctc.edu<mailto:molsson at sbctc.edu> • Phone: 360-704-3922

The power of the Web is in its universality.

Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.

Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

________________________________

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Amy Rovner via CATO <cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>>
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 11:25 AM
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Cc: Amy Rovner <arovner at shoreline.edu<mailto:arovner at shoreline.edu>>
Subject: Re: [CATO] [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

[Sent from outside SBCTC]

Thank you Doug!! Yes a HUGE stab in the back. So much for advocating for students and employees.

Disappointed,

Amy

Amy Rovner, MPH RD
Director eLearning Services
Accessible IT Coordinator

Shoreline Community College

www.shoreline.edu<http://www.shoreline.edu/>  |  206.546.6937

eLearning Office: 206.546.6966

eLearning Email: elearning at shoreline.edu<mailto:elearning at shoreline.edu>

Shoreline Support Center<https://support.shoreline.edu/>

[Shoreline logo with tagline, Engage. Achieve.]

________________________________

From: CATO <cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of Hayman, Douglass via CATO <cato at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:cato at lists.ctc.edu>>
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 11:01 AM
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Cc: Hayman, Douglass <dhayman at olympic.edu<mailto:dhayman at olympic.edu>>
Subject: [CATO] FW: [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

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All,

Did you see this post on educause this morning?

I followed the link and read the blog post by Ken Nakata from Converge Accessibility.

Attached is my quick remediation of the letter sent by a number of organizations mentioned in the post as the original I found was untagged. Note that some of the reference tags were problematic so refer to the hyperlinks to those within the document.

This letter, if legit, feels like a real stab in the back from the co-signing organizations.

Doug Hayman

IT Accessibility Coordinator

Information Technology

Olympic College

dhayman at olympic.edu<mailto:dhayman at olympic.edu>

(360) 475-7632

From: Laura Carlson via EDUCAUSE Connect <Mail at ConnectedCommunity.org<mailto:Mail at ConnectedCommunity.org>>
Sent: Monday, June 2, 2025 10:27 AM
To: Hayman, Douglass <dhayman at olympic.edu<mailto:dhayman at olympic.edu>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] - ITACCESS : Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?

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In case you haven't read this article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger? By Ken Nakata. "…On May 12, 2025, the American Council on...

IT Accessibility Community<https://connect.educause.edu/community-home/digestviewer?CommunityKey=cbf79115-53ad-4797-a495-285ee543c95d>

Article: Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?<https://connect.educause.edu/discussion/article-is-the-doj-web-accessibility-rule-in-danger#bm56bc36d2-c612-416e-9629-7555929dbd53>

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Jun 2, 2025 11:27 AM

Laura Carlson<https://connect.educause.edu/allcommunities/network/connect-directory/profile?UserKey=2c925aef-2a93-471b-ae64-9560a67fa350>

In case you haven't read this article:

Is the DOJ Web Accessibility Rule in Danger?
By Ken Nakata.
"…On May 12, 2025, the American Council on Education (on behalf of a
ton of other educational associations, including EDUCAUSE) asked the
Trump Administration to pause implementation of the Department of
Justice’s ADA Title II Web Accessibility regulation…"
convergeaccessibility.com/2025/06/02/...<https://convergeaccessibility.com/2025/06/02/doj-web-accessibility-rule-in-danger/>

Kind Regards,
Laura
--
Laura L. Carlson
Information Technology Systems and Services
University of Minnesota Duluth
Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign<http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/>

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