Public Universities and Title II: Course Content Rules

The Title II web rule has no exception for course content. A public university generally has to make its learning management system (LMS) and the content added to it meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and putting material behind a login does not change that. The password-protected exception covers only individualized documents, such as a student's own record, and not the syllabus, slides or readings a class shares. A state university's deadline is generally April 26, 2027, because its size is measured by the state's population, not its enrollment.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Is there a course content exception?

No. DOJ proposed two exceptions for password-protected class and course content in 2023 and dropped them in the final rule. Its preamble says password-protected course content "will be treated like any other content," so public educational institutions "will generally need to ensure that that content complies with WCAG 2.1 Level AA."

ADA.gov repeats the point in its first-steps guidance: "There is no exception for educational course content." It adds that content a teacher posts is not saved by the exception for older documents, because that exception does not apply to documents "currently used to apply for, gain access to, or participate in" a public entity's services, programs or activities.

When is a university's deadline, 2027 or 2028?

The rule measures size by the Census population of the government the entity belongs to, not by student headcount (28 CFR 35.104, "total population").

The preamble gives two examples:

• A public state university in a town of 20,000, inside a state of 5 million, is a large public entity because it is an instrumentality of the state.
• A county community college in a county of 35,000 is a small public entity because it is an instrumentality of the county.

ADA.gov's example is similar: a state university with 40,000 students in a state of 6 million uses the state's figure.

Since DOJ's April 2026 interim final rule, the dates in 28 CFR 35.200(b) are April 26, 2027 for entities of 50,000 or more (other than special district governments) and April 26, 2028 for the rest. See our post on the Title II deadlines. An independent school district uses a different Census measure, and a special district government always gets the later date. Which category a given college or campus system falls into is a legal question about its governing structure, so confirm it with counsel.

What does the password-protected exception cover?

Under 28 CFR 35.201(d), the exception covers conventional electronic documents (PDFs and word processor, presentation and spreadsheet files) that are both about a specific individual, their property or their account, and password-protected or otherwise secured.

DOJ's examples are medical records, receipts, utility bills and DMV records. A document that is "broadly applicable or otherwise for the general public (i.e., not individualized)" does not qualify. Two more limits matter for campuses:

• The exception covers the document, not the platform. The portal that holds it must still conform.
• It applies only to those file formats. The same record shown as HTML is not exempt.

A syllabus, lecture deck or reading list is written for the whole class, so it is not individualized. A student's own transcript or grade report may be.

How do common course scenarios sort out?

Archived web content is exempt only if it meets all four conditions in 35.104: created before the compliance date, kept exclusively for reference, research or recordkeeping, not altered after archiving, and stored in a clearly identified archive area. A lecture still used in a live course does not fit.

What about textbooks, publishers and ed-tech vendors?

The third-party exception in 35.201(c) applies only where the third party posts without a "contractual, licensing, or other arrangement" with the university. If a vendor posts content on the university's behalf, the exception does not apply. DOJ called this a fact-specific inquiry, and noted that content posted by third parties on course websites may fall inside the exception.

DOJ also declined to write a special rule for digital textbooks. It said they get treated like other course materials, and that where a textbook cannot conform without changing its meaning, an entity may assess the fundamental alteration or undue burden limitation in 35.204. A conforming alternate version (35.202) is allowed only "where it is not possible to make web content directly accessible due to technical or legal limitations."

ADA.gov says a public entity "can't contract away its responsibilities under the ADA." For procurement, that means asking publishers and ed-tech vendors for accessibility documentation before you sign, and writing accessibility requirements into the contract.

Which WCAG criteria usually matter for course materials?

Course content tends to cluster in a few criteria:

• SC 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded), Level A: captions for all prerecorded audio in synchronized media.
• SC 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, Level A: structure such as headings, lists and table headers must be programmatically determined.
• SC 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum), Level AA: at least 4.5:1 for normal text.
• SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content, Level A: text alternatives for images, charts and diagrams.

What should a university do first?

Start with the platform and the courses that reach the most students, then work toward the long tail.

1. Confirm your date by working out whose population your entity uses.
2. Test the LMS itself and any embedded tools, since one template defect repeats in every course.
3. Inventory high-enrollment course shells and required publisher platforms.
4. Give instructors templates and checklists for documents, slides and video.
5. Add accessibility requirements and ACR requests to ed-tech purchasing.

Has DOJ looked at a public university's online course content before?

This is a public case, not one of our engagements. On August 30, 2016, DOJ sent the University of California, Berkeley a letter of findings after reviewing 26 MOOCs, 30 YouTube lectures and 27 iTunes U courses. It found that "significant portions" of that online content were "not accessible to individuals with hearing, vision or manual disabilities," citing videos without captions, inaccurate automatic captions, and PDFs with missing or incorrect tag structure. DOJ also found that the university's own policy required WCAG 2.0 AA but the university "has not ensured compliance with its policy." That content was free and public, not login-protected class material, and the letter predates the 2024 rule, so it shows how DOJ has read Title II for course-style content, not what the new rule requires.

If you need a baseline against WCAG 2.1 AA before your date, see our accessibility audit service. Ed-tech vendors can also see VPAT and ACR preparation.

Sources

• 28 CFR 35.200 (compliance dates and WCAG 2.1 AA): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.200 (eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-35.200)
• 28 CFR 35.201 (exceptions): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.201
• 28 CFR 35.202 (conforming alternate versions): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.202
• 28 CFR 35.204 (fundamental alteration and undue burdens): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.204
• 28 CFR 35.104 (total population, special district government, archived web content, conventional electronic documents): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/35.104
• DOJ final rule and preamble, 89 FR 31320 (Apr. 24, 2024), sections on course content exceptions, digital textbooks, third-party content, individualized documents and total population: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/24/2024-07758/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-services-of-state (PDF: https://www.ada.gov/assets/pdfs/web-rule.pdf)
• DOJ interim final rule extending dates, 91 FR 20902 (Apr. 20, 2026): https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/20/2026-07663/extension-of-compliance-dates-for-nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web
• ADA.gov, Web Rule: First Steps (state university example, LMS, third-party examples, contracting): https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-rule-first-steps/
• DOJ Civil Rights Division, Letter of Findings to UC Berkeley, DJ No. 204-11-309 (Aug. 30, 2016): https://www.justice.gov/d9/case-documents/attachments/2016/08/30/letter_of_findings_-_u.s._v._uc_berkeley.pdf
• W3C, WCAG 2.1 (SC 1.1.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.3.1, 1.4.3): https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/